Abstract Since the pioneering work by Gosh and Bard discovering that the metal complexes adsorbed into a clay film were active electrochemically, many studies have been reported on the application of clay-modified electrodes (Gosh and Bard, 1983; Fitch et al., 1998 ). The following questions remain to be answered on the mechanisms of a clay modified electrode: (1) How different an adsorbed state is between electrochemically active and inactive species in a film? (2) How the layered structure of a clay film affects the mobility of a charge carrier? In order to settle the above problems, it is helpful to prepare a film with the uniform orientation of a clay microcrystalline. It may also be important to study the diffusion process by controlling the thickness of a film on the level of the number of a clay layer. In most measurements, a clay film has been prepared by casting or spin-coating an aqueous clay suspension. Accordingly a film is a few micrometer thick, consisting of few hundred clay layers. It is not very clear how these layers are organized in a film and how the organization affects the generation of a charge carrier and its transportation process. Although the classical Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique is a powerful approach to construct multilayer molecular assemblies (Gaines, 1966), the method unfortunately suffers from critical drawbacks such as mechanical weakness and sensitivity to contaminants. If a rigid inorganic layer is incorporated in such a LB film, however, it is expected that the film may acquire mechanical strength. Moreover the method

Abstract Improvements in rechargeable, high-energy density batteries are essential for the development of products ranging from zero-emission vehicles to portable electronics. Batteries based on polymer electrolytes are the subject of active R&&D competition worldwide. A key unsolved problem is the design and implementation of lightweight, chemically stable and environmentally benign electrolyte/electrode combinations. Of particular interest are Li + salts dissolved in flexible polymers like poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, since these systems combine promisingly high ionic conductivities with processability and are conveniently interfaced to high energy density Li electrodes. A serious drawback in these systems has been the precipitous decrease of conductivity (from 10 −4 to 10 −8 S/cm) at temperatures below the melting temperature, which occurs usually above room temperature. This decrease is due to the formation of crystallites in the polymer matrix that severely impede ionic mobility. One of the most promising ways to improve the electrochemical performance of polymer electrolytes is by the addition of inorganic fillers (Skaarup et al., 1980; Wieczorek, 1992 ; Capuano et al., 1991 ). The resulting composite polymer electrolytes (CPE) display enhanced conductivity, mechanical stability and improved interfacial stability towards electrode materials. Despite the improved properties of CPE, however, their application in rechargeable lithium batteries is still hindered by low ionic conductivity at ambient temperature, low lithium transport number and difficulties in processing. Polymer nanocomposites represent an alternative to conventional CPE. Because of the significantly reduced phase dimensions of the inorganic and the polymer matrix (1–100 nm), nanocomposites often exhibit new and improved properties, when compared to their

Abstract Humanity has a long history of curiosity about the solids of the Earth and applying them as objects of beauty, wealth, power and practical advantage. From the first use of a stone tool, through the bronze age, iron age, the time of the alchemists, the ageof coal, steam and steel and now the silicon age, we have exploited minerals and shaped them to our purposes. For a couple of centuries, analytical tools have allowed us to identify mine-rals and describe their physical and chemical properties, so their bulkcomposition and structure are reasonably well characterised. Likewise, methods have been available for defining the compositionofsolutions and gases. Interactions between solids and fluids have been explored and conceptual models have been proposed for how atoms come to and leave surfaces, but only recently have we been able to confirm or disprove these models through direct observation at the molecular scale. It is the reactions that take place at the interface between phases that determine the properties of them both. An understanding of the mechanisms responsible offers scientists a powerful tool in pre-dicting the behaviour of the natural world and in engineering materials that continue to suit our purposes. Whether Earth scientists are interested in the crystallisation of a melt in a magma chamber, or the recrystallisation that results in a diagenetic cement in a sandstone, or the accumulation of precious elements to form an ore deposit, or a hydrocarbon reservoir, or in the wide dispersal of contaminants throughout environmental systems, or the uptake or release of gases by a soil ora subduction zone, the chemical processes are the same.