A team at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, has developed quasi-two-dimensional alpha-tellurium (alpha-Te) nanosheets that exhibit an emergent ferromagnetic state and can make hydrogen-producing electrolysers more energy-efficient. The researchers combined scalable liquid-phase exfoliation with strain-engineered lattice distortions and advanced spin-sensitive probes to create and study few-layer alpha-Te. The approach targets indigenous solutions for sustainable hydrogen production by integrating magnetism and catalysis in a single elemental material.

The team found that exfoliating bulk tellurium into quasi-two-dimensional alpha-Te nanosheets released unpaired five-p electron spins that are otherwise quenched in bulk material, producing surface ferromagnetism tied to strain and broken inversion symmetry. This surface magnetism couples with ferroelectric and strong piezoelectric responses in the same few-layer platform, yielding a giant magnetoelectric response that can be actively manipulated by strain and electric fields. Spin-sensitive measurements traced how unpaired surface spins emerge and how magnetoelectric control can be applied.

The magnetoelectric control lowers the voltage required for the hydrogen evolution reaction and accelerates the reaction kinetics, thereby reducing electricity consumption for green hydrogen production. The researchers demonstrated enhanced hydrogen evolution under applied magnetic fields on the alpha-Te nanosheets, indicating that magnetoelectric coupling can directly boost electrocatalytic performance. The work has been published in Advanced Materials.

The discovery connects spintronics, multiferroic nanoelectronics and green hydrogen technologies and points to applications in low-power memory, smart sensors and magnetoelectric-driven water electrolysers. The stability and flexibility of the quasi-two-dimensional alpha-Te nanosheets suggest promise for flexible, portable and wearable energy and sensing technologies that could improve access to clean energy and real-time health or environmental monitoring. Further research will aim to scale the materials and integrate them into practical devices.