This paper reports the microstructure and electrochemical properties of Si-Al-Fe ternary amorphous alloys prepared by rapid solidification as an anode for lithium secondary batteries. The microstructure was analyzed using XRD and HR-TEM with EDS mapping. In accordance with DSC analysis, annealing was performed to crystallize the active nano-Si in the amorphous alloy. Thus, nano-Si forms (~80 nm) embedded in the matrix alloy, such as Fe2Al3Si3, FeSi2, and Fe0.42Si2.67, were successfully synthesized. The electrode based on the Si-Al-Fe ternary alloy delivered an initial discharge capacity of approximately 700 mAh g-1, and exhibited a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.0~99.6% from the 2nd to 70th cycles.
