Reported data were analyzed, and the structure of individual molten rare earth metal chlorides was found to represent a loose ionic network with a local octahedral configuration of every cation. Electricity in such melts was carried by both Ln3+ cations and Cl- anions. Electrotransport occurred via the following two main mechanisms: translational motion of individual ions and translational transfer in which several ions simultaneously hop into neighbouring equilibrium positions.

Electrical Conductivity of Individual Molten Rare-Earth Element Chlorides: III. Structure of the Melts and Electricity Transport Mechanism. A.M.Potapov: Russian Metallurgy, 2010[2], 137-45