Question:

If molten NaCl contains \(\mathrm{SrCl_2}\) as impurity, crystallization can generate

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When a higher valent cation replaces a lower valent cation in an ionic crystal, cation vacancies are produced to maintain electrical neutrality.
Updated On: Jun 15, 2026
  • Anionic vacancies
  • Cationic vacancies
  • Metal excess defects
  • Metal deficiency defects
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understand impurity defect.
When an ionic solid contains an impurity having a different valency than the host ion, defects are produced to maintain electrical neutrality.

Step 2: Analyze the impurity added to NaCl.
In NaCl crystal, sodium ion is \(\mathrm{Na^+}\).
The impurity added is \(\mathrm{SrCl_2}\), which provides \(\mathrm{Sr^{2+}}\) ions.
Since \(\mathrm{Sr^{2+}}\) replaces \(\mathrm{Na^+}\) in the crystal lattice, an extra positive charge is introduced.

Step 3: Maintain electrical neutrality.
To balance the extra positive charge produced by \(\mathrm{Sr^{2+}}\), one nearby \(\mathrm{Na^+}\) ion site remains vacant.
Thus, vacancies are created at cation positions.

Step 4: Final conclusion.
Hence, crystallization generates
\[ \boxed{\text{Cationic vacancies}} \]
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