NEW DIRECTIONS IN INTERCALATION RESEARCH

Since the start of this decade (the 1990's), intercalation has become a more important tool for modifying the structure and properties of ho st materials, both because of the important new systems to which inter calation has been applied and because of the new science and technolog y that has been made possible by these discoveries. Recently, the inte rcalation of fullerenes by alkali metals have demonstrated intercalati on in aero-dimensional systems. The observation of relatively high T-c superconductivity in certain alkali metal intercalated fullerenes has attracted much attention. Even more recent is the introduction of gue st species into one-dimensional carbon nanotubules. Intercalation has also been used to gain insights into the properties of high T-c cuprat es. A review is given here of recent advances in the intercalation of GICs and of new materials systems with particular relevance to the imp lication of this work on more traditional areas of intercalation physi cs.