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1. Alloying of Alkali Metals with Tellurene

   https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202003248  

   Jain, Rishabh; Yuan, Yifei; Singh, Yashpal; Basu, Swastik; Wang, Dawei; Yang, Aijun; Wang, Xiaohua; Rong, Mingzhe; Lee, Ho_Jin; Frey, David; et al (December 2020, Advanced Energy Materials)

   Abstract Graphite anodes offer low volumetric capacity in lithium‐ion batteries. By contrast, tellurene is expected to alloy with alkali metals with high volumetric capacity (≈2620 mAh cm⁻³), but to date there is no detailed study on its alloying behavior. In this work, the alloying response of a range of alkali metals (A = Li, Na, or K) with few‐layer Te is investigated. In situ transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory both indicate that Te alloys with alkali metals forming A₂Te. However, the crystalline order of alloyed products varies significantly from single‐crystal (for Li₂Te) to polycrystalline (for Na₂Te and K₂Te). Typical alloying materials lose their crystallinity when reacted with Li—the ability of Te to retain its crystallinity is therefore surprising. Simulations reveal that compared to Na or K, the migration of Li is highly “isotropic” in Te, enabling its crystallinity to be preserved. Such isotropic Li transport is made possible by Te's peculiar structure comprising chiral‐chains bound by van der Waals forces. While alloying with Na and K show poor performance, with Li, Te exhibits a stable volumetric capacity of ≈700 mAh cm⁻³, which is about twice the practical capacity of commercial graphite. 

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2. Thickness-dependent polaron crossover in tellurene

   https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads4763  

   Zhang, Kunyan; Fu, Chuliang; Kelly, Shelly; Liang, Liangbo; Kang, Seoung-Hun; Jiang, Jing; Zhang, Ruifang; Wang, Yixiu; Wan, Gang; Siriviboon, Phum; et al (January 2025, Science Advances)

   Polarons, quasiparticles from electron-phonon coupling, are crucial for material properties including high-temperature superconductivity and colossal magnetoresistance. However, scarce studies have investigated polaron formation in low-dimensional materials with phonon polarity and electronic structure transitions. In this work, we studied polarons of tellurene, composed of chiral Te chains. The frequency and linewidth of the A₁phonon, which becomes increasingly polar for thinner tellurene, change abruptly for thickness below 10 nanometers, where field-effect mobility drops rapidly. These phonon and transport signatures, combined with phonon polarity and band structure, suggest a crossover from large polarons in bulk tellurium to small polarons in few-layer tellurene. Effective field theory considering phonon renormalization in the small-polaron regime semiquantitatively reproduces the phonon hardening and broadening effects. This polaron crossover stems from the quasi–one-dimensional nature of tellurene, where modulation of interchain distance reduces dielectric screening and promotes electron-phonon coupling. Our work provides valuable insights into the influence of polarons on phononic, electronic, and structural properties in low-dimensional materials. 

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3. Tellurene: A Multifunctional Material for Midinfrared Optoelectronics

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acsphotonics.9b00694  

   Deckoff-Jones, Skylar; Wang, Yixiu; Lin, Hongtao; Wu, Wenzhuo; Hu, Juejun (July 2019, ACS Photonics)
4. High-Frequency Tellurene MOSFETs with Biased Contacts

   https://doi.org/10.1109/IMS19712.2021.9574853  

   Xiong, Kuanchen; Qiu, Gang; Wang, Yixiu; Li, Lei; Goritz, Alexander; Lisker, Marco; Wietstruck, Matthias; Kaynak, Mehmet; Wu, Wenzhuo; Ye, Peide D.; et al (June 2021, 2021 IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium (IMS))
5. Microscopic origin of inhomogeneous transport in four-terminal tellurene devices

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0025955  

   Kupp, Benjamin M.; Qiu, Gang; Wang, Yixiu; Casper, Clayton B.; Wallis, Thomas M.; Atkin, Joanna M.; Wu, Wenzhuo; Ye, Peide D.; Kabos, Pavel; Berweger, Samuel (December 2020, Applied Physics Letters)

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