Lithium batteries:: a new tool in solid state chemistry

Lithium batteries are being intensively studied owing to the considerable challenge they represent for applications. From a fundamental point of view, the shape of the charge/discharge curves gives information on all the structural and physical properties modifications which occur during the intercalation/deintercalation process. Moreover, the electrochemical reaction is a way of synthesising metastable materials which cannot be obtained by classical methods. The ease of monitoring very accurately either the cell voltage (oxidation state of the material) or the number of electrons transferred (lithium content in the material) makes lithium batteries a new very convenient tool for the solid state chemist. Typical examples are presented. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.