Modern applications in solid state electrochemistry, e.g. in the field of energy storage and conversion, involve the transport of charge carriers through surfaces or interfaces as a key aspect. Many of the electrochemical concepts in fact originate from the field of liquid state electrochemistry. The transfer of concepts from the liquid to the solid state causes some problems which have been addressed in a recent review [1]. This contribution coveres some of the topics from ref. [1] e.g. (i) electrode potentials and half-cell potentials, (ii) charge carrier blocking and dielectric breakdown, and (iii) activities versus particle densities. Additional topics to be discussed are transfer of charge carriers across interfaces, work functions and electrodeposition.

Many of these topics can be addressed by the charge attachment–induced transport technique developed in the authors group. The discussion involves modifying some of the paradigms we became acquainted to in the liquid state.

[1] K.-M. Weitzel, Current opinion in electrochemistry, 26:100672, (2021)