The idea for this book arose out of the realization that, although excellent surveys and handbooks of electrochemistry and of solid state chemistry are available, there is no single source covering the field of solid state electrochemistry. Moreover, as this field gets only limited attention in most general books on electrochemistry and solid state chemistry, there’s a clear need for a handbook in which attention is specifically directed toward this rapidly growing field and its many applications.

This handbook is meant to provide guidance through the multidisciplinary field of solid state electrochemistry for scientists and engineers from universities, research organizations, and industries. In order to make it useful for a wide audience, both fundamentals and applications are discussed, together with a state-of-the-art review of selected applications. As is true for nearly all fields of modern science and technology, it is impossible to treat all subjects related to solid state electrochemistry in a single textbook, and choices therefore had to be made. In the present case, the solids considered are mainly confined to inorganic compounds, giving only limited attention to fields like polymer electrolytes and organic sensors.

The editors thank all those who cooperated in bringing this project to a successful close. In the first place, of course, we thank the authors of the various chapters, but also those who advised us in finding these authors. We are also grateful to the staff of CRC Press — in particular associate editor Felicia Shapiro and project editor Gail Renard, who were of great assistance to us with their help and experience in solving all kinds of technical problems. It is a great loss for the whole electrochemical community that Professor Heinz Gerischer died suddenly in September 1994 and we remember with gratitude his great services to electrochemistry. We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to present as Chapter 2 of this handbook one of his last important contributions to this field.