Nanostructured materials in solid state ionics

Nanotechnology is a cluster of emerging techniques that converge 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' from physics, chemistry and biology to the same nanoscale. Strictly speaking, nanotechnology is not yet a technology, because complet e portfolios of available techniques to transform an idea into a commercial product hardly exist. The term 'nanotechnology' was introduced by Taniguch i in 1974 to refer to the increasingly precise (top-down) machining and fin ishing of materials and was popularized by Drexler during the 1980s by intr oducing the concept of molecular manufacturing. In that same period the fir st examples of nanoscale materials in the field of Solid State Ionics appea red, describing various syntheses, characterizations, and processing techni ques in relation to new and improved properties which are to be ascribed, t o a large extent, to the nanostructured microstructures. While nanotechnolo gy is still in its infancy and concerted research efforts are needed before its full potential can be realized, it will, when this happens, form the n ext wave after solid-state technology and biotechnology. In the field of So lid State Ionics promising developments are reviewed in this paper. After a brief historical introduction to nanoscale materials, this paper will revi ew the synthesis of nanostructured materials that have potential in relatio n to new solid-state electrochemical devices. Such electrochemical devices exhibit properties and applications otherwise unattainable. The future of n anostructured materials is discussed in the final section. (C) 2000 Elsevie r Science B.V. All lights reserved.