The effects of neutron irradiation upon the electrical resistivity of -6LiAl and -7LiAl (48 to 54at%Li at room temperature) were studied. A marked decrease in the resistivity was observed in neutron-irradiated -6LiAl with about 50at%Li, but not in neutron-irradiated -7LiAl. It was suggested that the defect complex, (VLi-LiAl), which comprised a vacancy at a Li site and a Li antisite atom at an Al site was an effective scatterer for carriers in -6LiAl. Break-up of the VLi-LiAl complex, due to the knock-on of neutron-transmuted 3H and 4He, caused a sudden decrease in electrical resistivity. A carrier-scattering model that was based upon the defect structure of -LiAl consistently explained the electrical resistivity before and after neutron irradiation. The Li self-diffusion coefficient exhibited a linear variation for [fVLi], when the Li content was less than 51.9at%, or [VLi-LiAl] when the Li content was greater than 51.9at%. This suggested that the present estimates of the defect concentrations were reasonable. It was also found that Li out-diffusion was obstructed by the break-up of the VLi-LiAl complex, due to neutron irradiation.

H.Sugai, M.Tanase, M.Yahagi, T.Ashida, H.Hamanaka, K.Kuriyama, K.Iwamura: Physical Review B, 1995, 52[6], 4050-9