Electroactive polymers have been the object of increasing academic and industrial interest and in the past ten to fifteen years substantial progress has been achieved in the development and the characterization of this important new class of conducting materials. These materials are usually classified in two large groups, according to the mode of their electric transport. One group includes polymers having transport almost exclusively of the ionic type and they are often called 'polymer electrolytes' or, in a broader way, 'polymer ionics'. The other group includes polymeric materials where...

The main motivation for the organization of the Advanced Research Workshop in Belgirate was the promotion of discussions on the most recent issues and the future perspectives in the field of Solid State lonics. The location was chosen on purpose since Belgirate was the place were twenty years ago, also then under the sponsorship of NATO, the very first international meeting on this important and interdisciplinary field took place. That meeting was named "Fast Ion Transport in Solids" and gathered virtually everybody at that time having been active in any aspect of motion of ions in solids....

Explains the current state of the science and points the way to technological advances

First developed in the late 1980s, lithium-ion batteries now power everything from tablet computers to power tools to electric cars. Despite tremendous progress in the last two decades in the engineering and manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, they are currently unable to meet the energy and power demands of many new and emerging devices. This book sets the stage for the development of a new generation of higher-energy density, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries by advancing battery...

Our energy-hungry world increasingly relies on new methods to store and convert energy for portable electronics, as well as environmentally friendly modes of transportation and electrical energy generation. The development of high-performance power sources are intimately linked to the availability of advanced materials. Designing batteries and capacitors with higher specific energy and power, longer cycle life and rapid charge/discharge rates requires a deeper understanding of the relationship between materials properties and performance. Fuel cells, which offer the potential for clean,...