Intercalation (chemistry)

[3] Intercalation expands the van der Waals gap between sheets, which requires energy.

Usually this energy is supplied by charge transfer between the guest and the host solid, i.e., redox.

[clarification needed] One of the largest and most diverse uses of the intercalation process by the early 2020s is in lithium-ion electrochemical energy storage, in the batteries used in many handheld electronic devices, mobility devices, electric vehicles, and utility-scale battery electric storage stations.

By 2023, all commercial Li-ion cells use intercalation compounds as active materials, and most use them in both the cathode and anode within the battery physical structure.

[4] In 2012 three researchers, Goodenough, Yazami and Yoshino, received the 2012 IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies for developing the intercalated lithium-ion battery and subsequently Goodenough, Whittingham, and Yoshino were awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of lithium-ion batteries".