Nanoionics: ion transport and electrochemical storage in confined systems

The past two decades have shown that the exploration of properties on the nanoscale can lead to substantially new insights regarding fundamental issues, but also to novel technological perspectives. Simultaneously it became so fashionable to decorate activities with the prefix 'nano' that it has become devalued through overuse. Regardless of fashion and prejudice, this article shows that the crystallizing field of 'nanoionics' bears the conceptual and technological potential that justifies comparison with the well-acknowledged area of nanoelectronics. Demonstrating this potential implies both emphasizing the indispensability of electrochemical devices that rely on ion transport and complement the world of electronics, and working out the drastic impact of interfaces and size effects on mass transfer, transport and storage. The benefits for technology are expected to lie essentially in the field of room-temperature devices, and in particular in artificial self-sustaining structures to which both nanoelectronics and nanoionics might contribute synergistically.