Phase transitions in intercalation chemistry

Abstract

The intercalation of cations in a given host structure, often a low-dimensional solid, is the result of a reversible ion-electron transfer reaction which is classically represented by the scheme:

Most of the features related to the positions taken by the A⁺ cations are rather well understood. But the electronic transfer is generally underconsidered or not considered at all in many papers. In fact it plays an essential role towards the formation of intercalation compounds. Moreover it largely governs the phase transitions that are the subject of this contribution.