Tellurium–Antimony Electrodes with Multistep Discharge Mechanisms for High-Energy-Density Liquid Metal Batteries

Liquid metal batteries (LMBs) are considered a competitive alternative to grid-level stationary energy storage. However, the energy density of traditional LMB material systems is limited by the low voltage differences between metal electrode pairs. In this work, a metalloid dual-active Sb–Te alloy is designed as a positive electrode to improve the energy density of LMBs. Moreover, the multistep lithiation mechanisms of Sb–Te electrodes and the discharge products of the ternary intermetallic compound LiSbTe2 are discovered for the first time. The stress action of Li2Te during the discharge process will cause cracks in the positive electrode interface and provide an additional transport channel. Benefiting from the meticulous design, the Li||Sb–Te system not only possesses excellent cycling performance but also exhibits high discharge voltage (1.02 V) and ultrahigh energy density (459 Wh kg–1). This alloying strategy effectively provides new insights into the design of multi-active-component cathodes for high-performance LMBs.