The understanding of hydrogen/lithium insertion phenomena is of great importance for the development of the next generation of functional electrochemical devices such as rechargeable batteries, electrochromic devices, and fuel cells. This volume introduces a variety of viable electrochemical methods to identify reaction mechanisms and evaluate relevant kinetic properties of insertion electrodes. The authors also outline various ways to analyze anomalous behaviour of hydrogen/lithium transport through insertion electrodes.

Recent advances in electrochemistry and materials science have opened the way to the evolution of entirely new types of energy storage systems: rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, electrochroms, hydrogen containers, etc., all of which have greatly improved electrical performance and other desirable characteristics. This book encompasses all the disciplines linked in the progress from fundamentals to applications, from description and modelling of different materials to technological use, from general diagnostics to methods related to technological control and operation of intercalation compounds. Designing devices with higher specific energy and power will require a more profound understanding of material properties and performance. This book covers the status of materials and advanced activities based on the development of new substances for energy storage.

The papers included in this issue of ECS Transactions were originally presented in the symposium ¿Electrochemistry of Novel Electrode Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage¿, held during the 211th meeting of The Electrochemical Society, in Chicago, IL, from May 6 to 11, 2007.

The electrochemical energy storage is a means to conserve electrical energy in chemical form. This form of storage benefits from the fact that these two energies share the same vector, the electron. This advantage allows us to limit the losses related to the conversion of energy from one form to another. The RS2E focuses its research on rechargeable electrochemical devices (or electrochemical storage) batteries and supercapacitors. The materials used in the electrodes are key components of lithium-ion batteries. Their nature depend battery performance in terms of mass and volume capacity, energy density, power, durability, safety, etc. This book deals with current and future positive and negative electrode materials covering aspects related to research new and better materials for future applications (related to renewable energy storage and transportation in particular), bringing light on the mechanisms of operation, aging and failure.

Electrochemistry is the branch of chemistry that deals with the chemical action of electricity and the production of electricity by chemical reactions. In a world short of energy sources yet long on energy use, electrochemistry is a critical component of the mix necessary to keep the world economies growing. Electrochemistry is involved with such important applications as batteries, fuel cells, corrosion studies, hydrogen energy conversion, bioelectricity. Research on electrolytes, cells, and electrodes is within the scope of this old but extremely dynamic field. This new book gathers leading research from throughout the world focussing on electrochemical studies of batteries.