The evolution of selenium cathodes: from infusion melts to particle synthesis

Selenium electrodes for Li-Se cells are currently created by infusing Se into carbon supports, which can be hazardous. Here we report safe, aqueous synthetic routes for obtaining selenium and sulfur-selenium hybrid particles, with controlled shapes and sizes, that facilitate the construction of cathodes with loadings >80 wt% and areal capacities >5 mA h cm(-2).