self-diˈffusion Chem.
[self- 3 a.]
Migration of constituent atoms or molecules within the bulk of a substance, esp. in a crystalline solid.
| 1924 Chem. Abstr. XVIII. 2632 By mixing such comps. with AgI interchange of ions (self-diffusion) can be effected. 1938 R. W. Lawson tr. Hevesy & Paneth's Man. Radioactivity (ed. 2) xviii. 173 Not until the introduction of radioactive indicators was it possible to open up to observational study the phenomenon of self-diffusion. 1958 New Scientist 2 Jan. 24/2 Autoradiograph (a) shows the self-diffusion after treatment at 800°C—this has occurred mainly along the boundaries of the grains or crystals of metal that make up bulk iron. 1974 D. M. Adams Inorg. Solids ix. 286 Self-diffusion work with silver isotopes confirms that these ions move freely between the available sites in the iodine lattice. |