Nanoionics

Nanoionics^[1] is the study and application of phenomena, properties, and mechanisms of processes connected with fast ion transport in all-solid-state nanoscale systems. Topics of interest include fundamental properties of oxide ceramics at nanometer length scales, and fast ion conductor (advanced superionic conductor)/electronic conductor heterostructures. Potential applications include electrochemical devices (electrical double layer devices) for conversion and storage of energy, charge and information. The term and conception of nanoionics (as a new branch of science) were first introduced by A.L.Despotulu and V.I.Nikolaichik in January 1992^[1].

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There are two classes of solid state ionic nanosystems and two fundamentally different nanoionics: (i) nanosystems based on solids with low ionic conductivity, and (ii) nanosystems based on advanced superionic conductors. The second was introduced in ^[2].

The important case of fast ionic conduction in solid states is one in a surface space-charge layer of ionic crystals. Such conduction was first predicted by Kurt Lehovec^[3]. As a space-charge layer has nanometer thickness, the effect is directly related to nanoionics (nanoionics-I). The Lehovec’s effect [3] had given a basis for a creation of a multitude of nanostructured fast ion conductors which are used in modern portable lithium batteries and fuel cells.

Some examples of creation of nanoionic devices are all-solid-state supercapacitors with fast ion transport at the functional heterojunctions (nanoionic supercapacitors),^[2][4] lithium batteries and fuel cells with nanostructured electrodes,^[5] nano-switches with quantized conductivity on the base of fast ion conductors^[6][7] (see also programmable metallization cell). These are well compatible with sub-voltage and deep-sub-voltage nanoelectronics and could find wide applications such as in autonomous micro power sources, RFID, MEMS, smartdust, nanosystems, or reconfigurable memory cell arrays (computer data storage).

Nanoelectronics and nanoionics have an area of intersection. This area can be called by nanoelionics.

See also

• Programmable metallization cell

References