Phenolic resin was evaluated as a binder material for Li-ion battery negative electrodes containing Si-based alloys. Phenolic resin was found to have a large first lithiation capacity of about 1200 mAh/g, which is suspected to result from the full reduction of the phenolic resin to form a hydrogen containing carbon. The decomposition products formed during the first lithiation have a reversible capacity of about 400 mAh/g and have excellent properties as a binder for alloy-based negative electrodes. The excellent performance of the phenolic resin combined with its low cost make it very attractive for use as a binder in alloy containing negative electrodes for Li-ion batteries. Furthermore the use of binders that decompose during lithiation represents a new concept in the design of high performance binder materials. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.