Ionic transport properties in AgCl under high pressures

Ionic transport behaviors of silver chloride (AgCl) have been revealed with impedance spectra measurement under high pressures up to 20.4 GPa. AgCl always presented ionic conducting under experimental pressures, but electronic conduction can coexist with ionic conduction within the pressure range from 6.7 to 9.3 GPa. The ionic conductivity of AgCl decreases by three orders of magnitude under compression, indicating that Ag+ ion migrations are suppressed by high pressure. A parameter, fW, was defined as the starting frequency at which Ag+ ions begin to show obvious long-distance diffusion in AgCl. fW showed a similar trend with the ionic conductivity under high pressures, indicating that the speed of Ag+ ion diffusion slows down as the pressure increases. Unlike AgI, Ag+ ion diffusion in AgCl is controlled by the indirect-interstitial mechanism. Due to stronger ionic bonds and larger lattice deformation, Ag+ ion diffusion in the rigid Cl− lattice is more difficult than in the I− lattice under high pressures.