Grain boundary materials as electrodes for lithium ion cells

A lithium ion battery comprising:

• (a) a first electrode comprising particles having a single chemical composition,
• said particles consisting of (i) at least one metal element selected from the group consisting of tin, aluminum, silicon, antimony, lead, germanium, magnesium, zinc, cadmium, bismuth, and indium;
• (ii) at least one metal element selected from the group consisting of manganese, molybdenum, niobium, tungsten, tantalum, iron, copper, titanium, vanadium, chromium, nickel, cobalt, zirconium, tantalum, scandium, yttrium, ruthenium, platinum, and rhenium;
• and, optionally, (iii) carbon,
• said particles having a microstructure characterized by a plurality of electrochemically inactive, nanometer-sized crystalline grains separated by electrochemically active non-crystalline regions;
• (b) a counterelectrode;
• and
• (c) an electrolyte separating said electrode and said counterelectrode.