Nanostructured Ceramics: Ionic Transport and Electrochemical Activity: A short journey across various families of materials

Ceramics with nm-sized dimensions are widely used in various applications such as batteries, fuel cells or sensors. Their oftentimes superior electrochemical properties as well as their capabilities to easily conduct ions are, however, not completely understood. Depending on the method chosen to prepare the materials, nanostructured ceramics may be equipped with a large area fraction of interfacial regions that exhibit structural disorder. Elucidating the relationship between microscopic disorder and ion dynamics as well as electrochemical performance is necessary to develop new functionalized materials. Here, we highlight some of the very recent studies on ion transport and electrochemical properties of nanostructured ceramics. Emphasis is put on TiO₂ in the form of nanorods, nanotubes or being present as mesoporous material. Further examples deal with nanocrystalline peroxides such as Li₂O₂ or nanostructured oxides (Li₂TiO₃, LiAlO₂, LiTaO₃, Li₂CO₃ and Li₂B₄O₇). These materials served as model systems to explore the influence of ball-milling on overall ionic transport.