(202e) Lead Telluride (PbTe) As an Anode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries Showing Fast Lithium Transport

The electrochemical behavior of lead telluride, PbTe, was studied for its potential use as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries. Its behavior was compared to that of lead oxide, PbO. During the reversible charging, similar lithium-lead alloys were formed for both materials. However in the PbTe system, Li₂Te was present while these alloys were formed instead of Li₂O. When the Li₂Te was present, lithium and lead alloyed and dealloyed rapidly in the potential window 0.01 – 0.7 V. In an extended potential range of 0.8 – 2.5 V, lithium also reacted with tellurium to form and decompose Li₂Te reversibly. During galvanostatic cycling, PbTe electrodes cycled stably in both potential domains for 100 cycles at a C/5 rate. The PbO electrodes cycled poorly over 100 cycles at a slower C/10 rate. The PbTe electrodes were also tested at faster rates up to 10C (charging and discharging in only 6 minutes each) and performed stably. As seen from the differential capacity profiles and the Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique results, the presence of Li₂Te reduced the overpotentials required to charge and discharge the batteries at higher rates by acting as a superionic conductor and improving lithium ion diffusion. Because of the results seen in this material, it could potentially be useful in low-power applications such as cell phones.