Amorphous Al-transition Metal Alloys as Anode Material for Lithium Ion Battery

Al based alloy powders (Al₈₅Ni₅Y₆Co₂Fe₂) are produced by spray atomization method. High energy ball milling is done to modify the surface topology and particle size for better electrochemical performance. X ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were conducted to characterize the microstructure of the alloys after ball milling. It is found that 5 hours ball milling gives the minimum crystallization and structure change. Thin film sample is also deposited on stainless steel substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method for electrochemical test. The capacity and reversibility for different samples are compared and discussed. A capacity of 200mAh/g is obtained for the battery with thin film sample as anode and a capacity of 140mAh/g is obtained for that with electrode from powder sample. Both of the batteries give up to 94% capacity retention after 20 cycles.