a novel silicon core/amorphous carbon nanotube (acnt) shell composite that can be used as lithium-ion batteries anode material was in-situ synthesized in the chemical vapor deposition (cvd) growth process. the hypothesized core/shell structure was evidenced by sem/tem/xrd, suggesting that the acnts composed of carbon clusters with short-range order and long-range disorder were successfully deposited onto the surface of the silicon particles. this si/acnt composite delivered a high capacity of 1496 mah g(-1) at a current density of 100 ma g(-1), and a superior cycling stability with 80% capacity retention after 300 cycles. this observed specific capacity improvement of si/acnt composite is likely attributed to the formed three-dimensional conductive networks between silicon particles and interwoven acnts in the composite. (c) 2017 elsevier b.v. all rights reserved.