## 3 Results and Discussion
The activity of graphite is the lowest for the SiOC:C\({}_{0.1}\)/Sn-60% sample, which is a direct consequence of having the lowest graphite content among all the samples. In addition, the tin alloying currents are the smallest for the sample with the lowest tin content, namely SiOC:C\({}_{0.2}\)/Sn-40%. These results suggest that the electrochemical response of each component is related to the amount of that component in the composite material. Figure 8 presents voltage profiles for the first and second cycles for ternary composite materials in the 0.005-1.5 V potential range. In the first lithiation process, there are no distinct plateaux, which corresponds well to the first cathodic polarization on the CV curves (Figure 7a and Figure S8 in Supplementary Materials), where no distinct redox peaks are observed. In the second and the following cycles, multiple plateaux are observed, indicating the creation of Sn\({}_{\text{v}}\)Li\({}_{\text{y}}\) alloys and stepwise Li\({}^{+}\) intercalation into graphite. During delithiation steps the redox activities of graphite (Figure 8a inset) and tin (Figure 8b) towards lithium ions are clearly depicted. The sloping shape of charge-discharge curves is typical for the ceramic component. The results confirm the electrochemical activity of all the composite components. The initial lithiation capacity for obtained materials varies between 1000-1300 mAh g\({}^{-1}\), and it drops by approximately half of the value over the first few cycles. The first delithiation capacity equals 439, 507, and 515 mAh g\({}^{-1}\) for the SiOC\({}_{0.2}\)/Sn-40%, SiOC:C\({}_{0.2}\)/Sn-60%, and SiOC:C\({}_{0.1}\)/Sn-60% samples respectively, which gives first cycle efficiency of around 45% in the 0.005 V-1.5 V potential range (57-63% in the 0.005 V-3 V potential range), as presented in Table 2. Such high capacity loss during the first cycle is mostly related to the creation of complex SEI graphite, tin, and ceramic phases and to irreversible lithium bonding with the ceramic phase [16; 63]. The SEI creation process is additionally enhanced by a high specific surface area, which increases the contact between the active material and electrolyte and thus promotes higher lithium-ion consumption [64]. Figure 8: Voltage profiles of the ternary composites: (**a**) 1 st cycle, (**b**) 2 nd cycle. Figure 7: (**a**) Cyclic voltammetry measurements of selected cycles of SiOC\({}_{0.1}\)/Sn-60% composite, and (**b**) comparison of the 10 th cycle of the ternary composites. Figure 9a presents cyclic stability measurements of ternary composites within the 0.005 V-3 V potential range. After the initial cycles, the capacity of tin-rich samples, i.e., SiOC:C\({}_{0.2}\)/Sn-60% and SiOC:C\({}_{0.1}\)/Sn-60%, is around 610 mAh g\({}^{-1}\), while the capacity of SiOC:C\({}_{0.2}\)/Sn-40% stays around 480 mAh g\({}^{-1}\). This indicates that the tin nanoparticles are the major lithium storage sites within composites, and increasing tin content indeed leads to a higher capacity. In subsequent cycles, the capacity of SiOC:C\({}_{0.1}\)/Sn-60% gradually fades, while for other materials, it remains rather stable. Fast capacity fading for SiOC/Sn composites was previously reported as the result of insufficient carbon content within the material due to the hydrothermal reduction process [12]. This problem is more pronounced in the composites in which the tin precursor was used in quantities higher than 40 wt.% with regard to a mass reaction mixture [13]. In the case of the SiOC:C\({}_{0.1}\)/Sn-60% composite, the stability over 100 cycles is much worse than that for the SiOC:C\({}_{0.2}\)/Sn-60% (52.7 vs. 86.5%). The results show that graphite, although not protecting the free carbon phase from the consumption in the carbothermal reduction process, can in an appropriate amount provide the required softness and electrical conductivity for good stability over extended cycling. SEM images of the electrode layers before and after cycling are presented in Figure S9 (in Supplementary Materials).