Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation time measurements were made of high ionic mobilities in ionic materials. It was noted that measurement of the relaxation due to modulation of the nuclear dipolar interaction was well understood and, together with complementary measurements of ionic conduction and tracer diffusion, could provide a good insight into the mechanisms of atomic motion in solids. Nuclei with electric quadrupole moments were also relaxed by fluctuating electric field gradients which could arise from defect motion. The analysis of this mechanism was less well understood, but promised to provide more detailed information. An extensive investigation was reported here of Li relaxation in Li2O crystals. The results were used to illustrate the possibilities of measurements of ion and defect mobilities, and of equilibrium defect concentrations, over a wide temperature range. It was found that thermal quenching produced an additional relaxation process which was due to a non-equilibrium defect concentration.

J.H.Strange, Z.H.Xie: Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 1994, 172-174, 1262-9