Production of Si/C composite particles

Si/C composite particles, prepared by:

• spray drying a mixture comprising elemental silicon particles, one or more polymers, one or more carbon additives, and one or more dispersing liquids, wherein the one or more polymers are exclusively one or more oxygen-free polymers, selected from the group consisting of polyacrylonitrile, polyolefins, polyvinyl halides, polyvinylaromatics, polyaromatics, and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and wherein the one or more carbon additives are selected from the group consisting of carbon black, activated carbon, amorphous carbon, hard carbon, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, and graphene,
• wherein the silicon particles and the one or more carbon additives in precomposite particles are enveloped entirely or partly by the one or more oxygen-free polymers, resulting in a surface of the precomposite particles formed entirely or partly by the one or more oxygen-free polymers,
• wherein the elemental silicon particles have a volume-weighted particle size distribution with a median diameter d50 of from 100 nm to 50 μm, to produce the precomposite particles, and thermally treating the precomposite particles to form the Si/C composite particles,
• wherein 20% or more of a total number of the silicon particles are located within pores in the Si/C composite particles.