Ionic diffusion in the quartz–β-eucryptite system was studied by means of direct-current transport measurements, secondary ion mass spectrometry and atomistic simulations. The transport data exhibited a large transient increase in ionic current at the α–β phase transition of quartz (Hedvall effect). The secondary ion mass spectrometry data indicated the occurrence of 2 diffusion processes; one involving rapid Li+ motion and the other involving the penetration of Al and Li atoms into quartz at the phase transition. Atomistic simulations explained why the fine microstructure of twin domain walls in quartz near to the transition did not hinder Li+ diffusion.

Ionic Diffusion in Quartz Studied by Transport Measurements, SIMS and Atomistic Simulations. A.Sartbaeva, S.A.Wells, S.A.T.Redfern, R.W.Hinton, S.J.B.Reed: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2005, 17[7], 1099-112