Highly reversible and large lithium storage in mesoporous si/c nanocomposite anodes with silicon nanoparticles embedded in a carbon framework.

A magnesiothermic reduction approach is designed to synthesize mesoporous Si/C nanocomposites with ultrasmall, uniform silicon nanoparticles (ca. 3 nm) embedded in a rigid mesoporous carbon framework. The resultant mesoporous Si/C nanocomposites present excellent performance with high reversible capacity, good Coulombic efficiency and rate capability, and outstanding cycling stability in lithium-ion battery applications.