Kinetics of Stage Ordering and Stage Transitions

A model of intercalation is presented which can be used for sophisticated three-dimensional computer simulations of staging kinetics. A realistic microscopic description of the intercalation process and of the stage-3 to stage-2 transition has been obtained for the first time. Stage disorder and three-dimensional effects are shown to be key ingredients of these phenomena. This work makes possible the first critical appraisal of the Daumas-H\'erold model, which is shown to be valid for uniformly intercalated high- and low-stage crystals, and to provide a useful language for describing the stage transition.