MICROWAVE ACTIVATED LITHIUM INTERCALATION IN TRANSITION-METAL SULFIDES

The reaction rates for the intercalation of lithium in molybdenum and titanium sulfide activated by microwave irradiation at room temperatur e and atmospheric pressure leading to products of relatively high crys tallinity are about two orders of magnitude higher than those by conve ntional thermal methods. Nevertheless, microwave irradiation of titani um sulfide samples produces appreciable decomposition. A similar effec t is observed for the intercalation of some organic and organometallic species in LiMoS2. Acceleration observed for microwave assisted lithi um intercalation reactions appears to be related with mechanistic chan ges which facilitate a first stage intercalation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd.