Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology have developed a novel quasi-2D tellurium (Te) nanosheet material that could significantly improve the efficiency of hydrogen-producing electrolysers, offering a promising pathway for sustainable clean-energy technologies.
The research team, led by Prof. Dipankar Mandal along with PhD researcher Dalip Saini, discovered a method to produce quasi-2D α-tellurium nanosheets that exhibit an emergent ferromagnetic state. The institute operates under India’s Department of Science and Technology.
According to the researchers, the new nanosheets offer an unconventional approach to controlling both magnetism and catalytic activity within a single material. This capability could lower the energy required for hydrogen generation, accelerating the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and reducing electricity consumption in green hydrogen production.
The development comes at a time when conventional materials are facing limitations in nanoscale devices due to instability and loss of functionality as components continue to shrink. Scientists have increasingly turned to two-dimensional (2D) materials to address these challenges.
In this study, bulk tellurium was exfoliated into quasi-2D α-Te nanosheets using scalable liquid-phase exfoliation combined with strain-engineered lattice distortions and advanced spin-sensitive measurement techniques. This process enabled the surface of the material to reveal unpaired 5p electron spins that remain inactive in bulk tellurium, leading to an emergent ferromagnetic state driven by surface strain and broken inversion symmetry.
The research demonstrates that this surface magnetism strongly interacts with ferroelectricity, generating a significant magnetoelectric response. Scientists leveraged this property to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction, effectively linking multiferroic behavior, spintronics, and electrocatalysis within a single elemental material.
The findings, published in the journal Advanced Materials, show that quasi-2D α-tellurium can host controllable ferromagnetically ordered surface spins without relying on transition-metal ions or complex magnetic compounds.
Researchers say the technology could contribute to next-generation low-power electronic memory, smart sensors, and magnetoelectric-driven water electrolysers used for green hydrogen production.
In addition, the stability and flexibility of the nanosheets make them suitable for flexible, portable, and wearable energy and sensing technologies. Such applications could improve access to clean energy solutions while enabling real-time environmental and health monitoring.
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