Ionic conductivity of SnCl2

Abstract The ionic conductivity of nominally pure and doped polycrystalline SnCl 2 has been measured, using an ac technique from 50°C to the melting point. Conductivity of the sample showed an activation energy 0f 1.31 eV for the high-temperature region and 0.41 eV for the low-temperature region. In the latter, the conductivity increased by doping with KCl and decreased by doping with YCl 3 but the activation energy did not change appreciably. The value of electronic conductivity was observed to be less than 1% of the total conductivity by a dc polarization method at 200°C. The transference number of Sn 2+ ion was found to be negligible from tracer diffusion measurements. Therefore the conductivity of SnCl 2 crystals is considered to be due to Cl - ions, probably via a vacancy mechanism analogous to PbCl 2 with the same crystal structure.