Local Defect Equilibration During Interdiffusion

In crystals, non-steady state component transport locally alters the number, and sometimes even the kind, of point defects (irregular SE s). As a consequence, the relaxation of defect concentrations takes place continuously during chemical interdiffusion and solid state reactions. The rate of these relaxation processes determines how far local defect equilibrium can be established during transport. 

The Kirkendall effect in metals shows that during interdiffusion, the relaxation time for local defect equilibration is often sufficiently short (compared to the characteristic time of macroscopic component transport) to justify the assumption of local point defect equilibrium. In those cases, the (isothermal, isobaric) transport coefficients (e.g., Dh bj) are functions only of composition. Those quantitative methods introduced in Section 4.3.3 which have been worked out for multicomponent diffusion can then be applied. 

In other cases, however, and in particular when sublattices are occupied by rather immobile components, the point defect concentrations may not be in local equilibrium during transport and reaction. For example, in ternary oxide solutions, component transport (at high temperatures) occurs almost exclusively in the cation sublattices. It is mediated by the predominant point defects, which are cation vacancies. The nearly perfect oxygen sublattice, by contrast, serves as a rigid matrix. These oxides can thus be regarded as models for closed or partially closed systems. These characteristic features make an AO-BO (or rather A, O-B, a 0) interdiffusion experiment a critical test for possible deviations from local point defect equilibrium. We therefore develop the concept and quantitative analysis using this inhomogeneous model solid solution. 

In view of the oxygen ion immobility, the anion sublattice serves as the natural reference frame for the fluxes. In this coordinate system jQ = 0, and the conservation of Me sites requires that 

The flux jA of component A is given by the sum (yA e + Ja 1c) the flux jB of component B by yBxe- In Section 2.2, we showed that the component-driving forces are composed of the chemical potential gradients of those combinations of SE s which constitute the corresponding building units. Thus, in the present case, we have 

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