Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-chemistry-course-of-the-year-4-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-1/13/a/ii/solution
Past exam of the chemistry course of the year 4 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 1 13 a ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
The trivalent dopant is comparable in radius to Na and is naturally accommodated on a sodium site rather than a chloride site. One charge-balanced incorporation reaction isThree cation sites are filled by one Y ion and two vacancies; the three chloride ions occupy the corresponding anion sites. The effective substitutional charge is balanced by two singly negative sodium vacancies.
YCl doping primarily increases sodium-vacancy-mediated ionic conductivity, provided the vacancies remain mobile rather than strongly bound to the dopant. In contrast, sodium-rich doping introduces electrons and anion vacancies or interstitial-related defects. Neither mechanism requires holes as its compensating carrier, and an increase in vacancy number need not translate proportionally into conductivity if defect association reduces mobility.
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