Reaction, generally reversible, that involves the penetration of a host material by
guest species without causing a major structural modification of the host.
Notes: - Intercalation can refer to the insertion of a guest species into a one-, two- or three-dimensional host structure.
- The guest species is not distributed randomly but occupies positions predetermined by the structure of the host material.
Examples: The
insertion of lithium into layered $\ce{TiS2}$ [$\ce{Li_{x}TiS2}$ ($0 \le x \le 1$)] and of potassium into the layers of
graphite ($\ce{C8K}$).
Source: PAC, 2007,
79, 1801. (
Definitions of terms relating to the structure and processing of sols, gels, networks, and inorganic-organic hybrid materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)) on page 1823 [
Terms] [
Paper]