The present disclosure is directed at an electrode and methods for forming such electrode for a battery wherein the electrode comprises silicon clathrate. The silicon clathrate may include silicon clathrate Si46 containing an arrangement of 20-atom and 24-atom cages fused together through 5 atom pentagonal rings and/or silicon clathrate Si34 containing an arrangement of 20-atom and 28-atom cages fused together through 5 atom pentagonal rings. The silicon clathrate may be present as particles having a largest linear dimension in the range of 0.1 μm to 100.0 μm.