Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Numerous layered compounds are interesting materials in which lithium intercalation occurs primarily without destruction of the host lattice. In many cases a rigid-band model is a useful first approximation for describing the changes in electronic properties of the host material with intercalation. This paper presents some recent experimental results obtained on transition-metal chalcogenide compounds and on transition-metal oxides as well. We shall observe, nevertheless, that the rigid-band model is not applicable to all of the intercalated materials. The applicability of the rigid-band model may be used as a test for the most desirable properties of a good intercalation material. This needs to be more extensively documented for their possible applications as insertion electrodes in solid state batteries.