One- and two-dimensional 19F high-speed MAS NMR are
used to probe motion of the fluorine
sublattices in the fluoride-ion conductors α PbF2 and
potassium fluoride-doped α PbF2. The two
crystallographic
sites F(1) and F(2) are resolved in the 19F spectrum of the
pure material and are assigned on the basis of their
207Pb−19F J-coupling. A resonance
from fluoride-ions jumping rapidly between the two sites is also
observed
above 120 °C, which increases in intensity as the temperature is
raised. The resonance from the mobile fluoride-ions is observed at room temperature for the α PbF2 sample
containing potassium impurities and for samples
that have been intentionally doped with KF by direct reaction of KF and
PbF2. The correlation times of the
rigid and mobile fluoride-ions in these samples differ by more than 2
orders of magnitude, and 2-D magnetization
exchange methods show that the exchange between these two sets of
fluoride-ions is negligible. The vacancies
produced by potassium doping appear to remain closely associated with
the potassium defects at low
temperatures, and the mobile fluoride-ions at these temperatures are
assigned to fluoride-ions near the potassium
defects. In contrast, in the pure, or more uniformly
potassium-doped, materials, the vacancies are more
uniformly
distributed over the solid, resulting in spectra with a narrower range
of correlation times for fluoride-ion motion.
Finally, a low activation energy conduction pathway between F(1)
and F(2) sites along the y-axis is proposed
to rationalize the rapid F(1)↔F(2) fluoride-ion
diffusion.