Patent ID: 8771498

Claim:
An electrochemical method for producing Si nanowires and/or Si nanotubes directly from a silicon compound SiO 2 powder, the method comprising: providing an electrolysis cell having a cathode, an anode and an electrolyte comprising a metal compound molten salt to carry out an electrolysis; using the silicon compound SiO 2 powder as the cathode and immersing the cathode in the electrolyte; applying a cell voltage between the cathode and the anode in the electrolysis cell; and forming, on the cathode, an electrolysis product comprising one or more of Si nanowires and Si nanotubes, wherein the cell voltage applied between the cathode and the anode is less than 3.2V, and the cell voltage applied between the cathode and the anode is less than a decomposition potential of the electrolyte, and the electrolyte comprises CaO formed by hydrolysis of molten salt CaCl 2 during a melting process at a high temperature.