Chemical synthesis and supercapacitive properties of lanthanum telluride thin film

Abstract Lanthanum telluride (La 2 Te 3 ) thin films are synthesized via a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. The crystal structure, surface morphology and surface wettability properties are investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and contact angle goniometer techniques, respectively. The La 2 Te 3 material exhibits a specific surface area of 51 m 2  g −1 determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method. La 2 Te 3 thin film electrode has a hydrophilic surface which consists of interconnected pine leaf-like flaky arrays that affect the performance of the supercapacitor. The supercapacitive performance of La 2 Te 3 film electrode is evaluated in 1 M LiClO 4 /PC electrolyte using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. La 2 Te 3 film electrode exhibits a specific capacitance of 194 F g −1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s −1 and stored energy density of 60 W h kg −1 with delivering power density of 7.22 kW kg −1 . La 2 Te 3 film electrode showed capacitive retention of 82% over 1000 cycles at a scan rate of 100 mV s −1 . Further, flexible La 2 Te 3 |LiClO 4 -PVA|La 2 Te 3 supercapacitor cell is fabricated.