High-Capacity Te Anode Confined in Microporous Carbon for Long-Life Na-Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted considerable attention as an alternative energy-storage technology in recent years. Developing advanced sodium storage anode materials with appropriate working potential, high capacity, and good cycling performance is very important. Herein, we demonstrate a nanostructured tellurium@carbon (nano-Te@C) composite by confining nano-Te molecules in the space of carbon micropores as an attractive anode material for SIBs. The nano-Te@C anode presents an appropriate redox potential in the range of 1.05-1.35 V (vs Na(+)/Na), which avoids the Na dendrite problem and achieves a high reversible capacity of 410 mA h g(-1) on the basis of a two-electron redox reaction mechanism. Notably, the nano-Te@C exhibits an admirable long-term cycling stability with a high capacity retention of 90% for 1000 cycles (i.e., ultralow capacity decay of 0.01% per cycle). The excellent electrochemical property of nano-Te@C benefits from the high electroactivity from the nanostructure design and the effective confinement of the microporous carbon host. In addition, a Na-ion full cell by using nano-Te@C as anode and Na2/3Ni1/3Mn2/3O2 as cathode is demonstrated for the first time and exhibits a remarkable capacity retention up to 95% after 150 cycles. The results put new insights for the development of advanced SIBs with long-cycle lifespan.