We present a joint experimental and theoretical study on metal dusting phenomena in Ni binary alloys containing group-13, 14, and 15 elements in the periodic series. Laboratory metal dusting test of several Ni binary alloys was conducted in a simulated syngas atmosphere consisting of CO, H 2 , CO 2 , and H 2 O at 923 K for 100 h. The Ni alloys containing the group-14 and 15 elements exhibited excellent metal dusting resistance, while those containing the group-13 did not. This behavior is reasonably interpreted from the Blyholder mechanism and the electron filling concept in the p-d hybridization states for the associated alloys.Metal dusting, a type of corrosion which is resulted from catastrophic carburization or graphitization of steels and alloys in carbonaceous atmosphere, is a prominent cause of corrosion damage for high temperature materials used in plants for ammonia, methanol, dimethyl ether and gas-to-liquids production. 1-4 Once the metal dusting occurs on the metal surface, a pit like wastage continues to grow during exposure to the carbon-bearing gases at intermediate temperatures. Recent literatures demonstrated that Ni alloys containing Cu of 20 at.% and more were resistant against metal dusting attack. 5, 6 Alloy of Ni30%Cr-2%Cu-1.5%Si that formed oxide scales of Cr 2 O 3 also showed the excellent resistance to metal dusting. 7 The basic experiments revealed that the Cu reduced the atomistic interaction of CO with the metal and restrains the carbon penetration. The most basic principle for the CO adsorption on metal surfaces is on the difference between the dissociative and non-dissociative properties. The accepted model so far is the donation and back-donation mechanism proposed by Blyholder. 8 Based on the mechanism, the electronic structure calculations have proven that the element where d-band is fully occupied by the electron is effective against the dissociative adsorption of CO on their surface. 5 For multicomponent alloys e.g. Ni-Cu, the Fermi level (E F ) in d-band states shifts upper side owing to electron donor elements compared to that for pristine Ni metal, resulting in suppression of dissociative adsorption of CO. A new Ni-Cr-Si-Cu alloy adopting the hybrid technique "surfactant-mediated suppression" and "protective oxides barrier" was developed and has successfully experienced that no pits have occurred for more than 2 years in a laboratory test. 9,10 Considering the proposed approach, representative (typical) elements in the right side of periodic table should exhibit the surfactantmediated suppression effect. The objective of this study is to clarify the effect of the representative elements on the dissociative adsorption of carbonaceous gases.
ExperimentalBinary alloys of Ni-X (X = Ga, In, Tl, Ge, Sn, Pb, P, Sb, and Bi) were prepared in an ark-melting furnace under an inert argon atmosphere. Elements of Ga, In, and Tl belong to group-13 in the periodic table. Those of Ge, Sn, and Pb belong to group-14 and the rests are in group-15. Purity of metals ratio are 99.97%Ni, 99.99%Ga, 9...