Effect of plastic deformation on ionic conductivity of silver chiloride

Abstract

Plastic deformation of AgCl crystal at room temperature produced a conductivity increase that varied with strain. The conductivity increase recovered slowly at temperatures of the extrinsic range. The conductivity increase was mainly ascribed to the increase of the concentration of silver ion vacancies freed by the breaking up of the complexes associated with multivalent metallic impurities and produced by moving dislocations, and the recovery was attributed to the bimolecular reaction between the silver ion vacancies and the traps. For thoroughly recovering the conductivity increase, it was necessary to anneal the deformed crystal at higher temperatures. In the range of these temperatures, the recovery of the conductivity increase corresponded to the disappearance of the birefringent bands.