Microstructure and electrochemical properties of rapidly solidified Si–Ni alloys as anode for lithium-ion batteries

[Display omitted] The ribbon type Si–Ni alloys were synthesized at different atomic ratio using arc-melting followed by rapid solidification process. According to structural and electrochemical evaluation, Si70Ni30 alloy was found to be most optimized with highest reversible capacity and superior rate capability even at high current density of 2.4Ag−1. This paper reports an electrochemically highly reversible Si–Ni alloy based electrode through the microstructure and composition analysis using XRD and HR-TEM combined with EDS. Nano-Si (∼200nm) embedded in the inactive NiSi2/NiSi matrix synthesized using industrial-scale rapid solidification process (RSP). In addition, comprehensive analysis of HR-TEM images, dQ/dV and OCV plots provides powerful insights into the cycle life degradation of Si-alloys caused by the material state change upon cycling.