Question

What is the non-stoichiometry defect in crystals?

Answer 1

When the stoichiometry of the crystal gets disturbed by the defect present in the crystal, the defects are called non-stoichiometric defects.

These may be of the following three types:

1. Metal excess defect due to anion vacancies.
2. Metal excess defect due to the interstitial cations.
3. Metal deficiency defect due to cation vacancies.