Volumetric properties and coefficients of mutual diffusion of liquid alloys of alkali metals with lead and bismuth

In this review paper, using the example of AM–Pb and AM–Bi melts (AM is an alkali metal), modern ideas on the nature of chemical short-range order in liquid metal systems with partial ionic bonding are briefly presented. Generalization and analysis of the experimental data obtained by the authors on the volumetric properties and mutual diffusion in liquid alloys of alkali metals with lead and bismuth have been carried out. The behavior of these properties is shown to generally agree with existing simple models that assume the presence of ionic complexes in melts, which gradually dissociate with increasing temperature. At the same time, the need to refine the structure of polyanionic complexes in liquid AM–Bi systems is confirmed.