Liquid metals can be surface activated to generate a controlled galvanic potential by immersing them in aqueous solutions. This creates energized liquid-liquid interfaces that can promote interfacial chemical reactions. Here we utilize this interfacial phenomenon of liquid metals to deposit thin films of tin-doped tellurium onto rigid and flexible substrates. This is accomplished by exposing liquid metals to a precursor solution of Sn2+ and HTeO2+ ions. The ability to paint liquid metals onto substrates enables us to fabricate supercapacitor electrodes of liquid metal films with an intimately connected surface layer of tin-doped tellurium. The tin-doped tellurium exhibits a pseudocapacitive behavior in 1.0 M Na2SO4 electrolyte and records a specific capacitance of 184.06 F·g-1 (5.74 mF·cm-2) at a scan rate of 10 mV·s-1. Flexible supercapacitor electrodes are also fabricated by painting liquid metals onto polypropylene sheets and subsequently depositing tin-doped tellurium thin films. These flexible electrodes show outstanding mechanical stability even when experiencing a complete 180° bend as well as exhibit high power and energy densities of 160 W·cm-3 and 31 mWh·cm-3, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrates the attractive features of liquid metals in creating energy storage devices and exemplifies their use as media for synthesizing electrochemically active materials.
Keywords: energy storage; gallium; interfaces; liquid metals; supercapacitors; tellurium.