Nanoionics

Nanoionics is the study and application of phenomena, properties, effects and mechanisms of processes connected with fast ion transport (FIT) in all-solid-state nanoscale systems. The 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 are in 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.Despotuli and V.I.Nikolaichik (Institute of Microelectronics Technology and High Purity Materials, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka) in January 1992. 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 (alpha–AgI, rubidium silver iodide–family, etc.). The latter was proposed in . Nanoionics-I and nanoionics-II differ from each other in the design of interfaces. The role of boundaries in nanoionics-I is the creation of conditions for high concentrations of charged defects (vacancies and interstices) in a disordered space-charge layer. But in nanoionics-II, it is necessary to conserve the original highly ionic conductive crystal structures of advanced superionic conductors at ordered (lattice-matched) heteroboundaries. Nanoionic-I can significantly enhance (up to ~108 times) the 2D-like ion conductivity in nanostructured materials with structural coherence, but it is remaining in ~103 times smaller relatively to 3D ionic conductivity of advanced superionic conductors. Being a branch of science and nanotechnology, nanoionics is unambiguously defined by its own objects (nanostructures with FIT), subject matter (properties, phenomena, effects, mechanisms of processes, and applications connected with FIT at nano-scale), method (interface design in nanosystems of superionic conductors), and criterion (R/L ~1, where R is the nanosize(s) of device structure, and L is the characteristic length on which the properties, characteristics, and other parameters (connected with FIT) change drastically. The examples of nanoionic devices are all-solid-state supercapacitors with fast ion transport at the functional heterojunctions (nanoionic supercapacitors), lithium batteries and fuel cells with nanostructured electrodes, nano-switches with quantized conductivity on the basis of fast ion conductors (see also programmable metallization cell).

Further information 

1. Деспотули А., Андреева А., Наноионные приборы в глубоко субвольтовой наноэлектронике // Наноиндустрия. - 2008. - N 5(11). - С.12-16
2. Деспотули А.Л., Андреева А.В., Наноионные приборы в глубоко субвольтовой наноэлектронике, Наноиндустрия, V, N5, c.12, 2008г.
3. Андреева А.В., Деспотули А.Л., Граничный дизайн в наноионике передовых суперионных проводников, Материалы Международной научно-практической конференции, V, N, c.45, 2006г.
4. Деспотули А.Л., Андреева А.В. , Рамбабу В., Наноионика - основа создания новых приборов для МСТ, Нано- и Микросистемная техника, V, N2, c.5, 2005г.
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7. Yamaguchi, S. (2007). "Nanoionics - Present and future prospects". Science and Technology of Advanced Materials 8: 503 (free download)
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10. Maier, J. (2005). "Nanoionics: ion transport and electrochemical storage in confined systems". Nature Materials 4: 805–815
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12. Article Nanoionics from Wikipedia, the Free Enciclopedia. Available under the license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.

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