The origin of the conductivity maximum in molten salts. II. SnCl2 and HgBr2

The phenomenon of electrical conductivity maxima of molten salts versus temperature during orthobaric (closed-vessel) conditions is further examined via ab initio simulations. Previously, in a study of molten BiCl3, a new theory was offered in which the conductivity falloff at high temperatures is due not to traditional ion association, but to a rise in the activation energy for atomic ions hopping from counterion to counterion. Here this theory is further tested on two more inorganic melts which exhibit conductivity maxima: another high-conducting melt (SnCl2, σmax = 2.81 Ω(-1) cm(-1)) and a low-conducting one (HgBr2, σmax = 4.06 × 10(-4) Ω(-1) cm(-1)). First, ab initio molecular dynamics simulations were performed and again appear successful in reproducing the maxima for both these liquids. Second, analysis of the simulated liquid structure (radial distributions, species concentrations) was performed. In the HgBr2 case, a very molecular liquid like water, a clear Grotthuss chain of bromide transfers was observed in simulation when seeding the system with a HgBr(+) cation and HgBr3 (-) anion. The first conclusion is that the hopping mechanism offered for molten BiCl3 is simply the Grotthuss mechanism for conduction, applicable not just to H(+) ions, but also to halide ions in post-transition-metal halide melts. Second, it is conjectured that the conductivity maximum is due to rising activation energy in network-covalent (halide-bridging) melts (BiCl3, SnCl2, PbCl2), but possibly a falling Arrhenius prefactor (collision frequency) for molecular melts (HgBr2).