Overview

The combination of solid materials of different structural dimensionality with atomic or molecular guest species via intercalation processes represents a unique and widely variable low temperature synthesis strategy for the design of solids with particular composition, structure and physical properties. In the last decade this field has experienced a rapid development and represents now an established specific domain of solid state research and materials science. Substantial progress has been made with respect to an understanding of the complex relationship between structure, bonding, physical properties and chemical reactivity since the first volume on the subject appeared in this series in 1979 (Intercalated Layered Materials, F. Levy, ed.). The purpose of this volume is to present a survey on progress and per- spectives based on the treatment of a series of major areas of activities in this field. By the very nature of its subject this monograph has an interdisciplinary character and addresses itself to chemists, physicists and materials scien- tists interested in intercalation research and related aspects such as design and characterization of complex materials, low temperature synthesis, solid state reaction mechanisms, electronic/ionic conductivity, control of electronic properties of solids with different structural dimensionality and application of intercalation systems. Several chapters have been devoted to specific groups of host lattices.