TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The silicon-based primary particles or the silicon-based bulky particles comprise silicon, silicon oxide (SiOx) (where x is greater than 0 to less than 2), silicon-Z alloy (where Z is alkali metal, alkali earth metal, a group 13 element, group 14 element, group 15 element, group 16 element, transition metal and/or rare earth element and not silicon). The active material further comprises 1-20 pts. wt. amorphous carbonaceous coating layer formed on a surface of the silicon-based primary particle. Preferred Method: The step of milling is performed for 0.5-20 hours. The step of drying is performed under reducing conditions at 60-150 degrees C. The method further comprises: adding a crystalline carbonaceous material to the dried mixture to provide a resultant mixture and spherizing the resultant mixture to provide a resultant spherical mixture; and heat treating the resultant spherical mixture at 700-1000 degrees C.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The carbonaceous coating layer: comprises carbonized material, where the carbonized material may be made from an organic material that is sucrose, glucose, galactose, fructose, lactose, starch, mannose, ribose, aldohexose or ketohexose; has a thickness of 1-100 nm; and is continuously formed on the surface of the silicon-based primary particle. The emulsifier comprises at least one of stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, lauric acid, tridecylic acid, pentadecanoic acid, myristic acid, nonadecanoic acid, arachidic acid, behenic acid, linolic acid, linolenic acid and glycerin. The emulsifier is present at 1-30 pts. wt. The mixture further comprises an organic material that is sucrose, glucose, galactose, fructose, lactose, starch, mannose, ribose, aldohexose and/or ketohexose. The organic solvent is ethanol, n-butanol, 1-propanol and/or 2-propanol, and present at 100-300 pts. wt. EXAMPLE - Silicon particles were pulverized with a bead mill to prepare nano-size particles. 30 wt.% Silicon particles and 1 wt.% stearic acid were mixed in isopropanol and the mixed solution was milled with zirconia beads (0.3 mm) at a bead rotation speed of 4000 rpm for 6 hours. The milled silicon nanoparticles colloid mixture was dried at 120 degrees C under reducing conditions in a drying furnace for 2 hours. The dried powder was milled in a mortar, and sieved with a 325 mesh to obtain negative active material that is silicon nanoparticle powder including particles of average particle size of 300 nm.