Electrochemically Active-Material Structures Comprising Silicon and Inert Elements and Methods of Fabricating Thereof

A method of fabricating electrochemically active-material structures, for negative battery electrodes in lithium-ion electrochemical cells, using a homogenous liquid-phase mixture, the method comprising:

• providing one or more precursors dissolved in a liquid solvent and forming the homogenous liquid-phase mixture in which one or more precursors are atomically dispersed, wherein the one or more precursors comprise silicon, carbon, oxygen, and one or more inert elements;
• and
• reacting the one or more precursors using reaction conditions that induce formation of the electrochemically active-material structures by simultaneously extracting the silicon and the one or more inert elements from the one or more precursors and incorporating the silicon and the one or more inert elements into the electrochemically active-material structures, wherein:
• the silicon and the one or more inert elements are chemically dispersed in the electrochemically active-material structures,
• the electrochemically active-material structures are solid structures forming a suspension in the liquid solvent,
• the electrochemically active-material structures are characterized by an amorphous silicon phase or a polycrystalline silicon phase while comprising the one or more inert elements in addition to the silicon, and
• the reaction conditions induce one or both of a chemical reaction and a electrochemical reaction of the one or more precursors.