Effect of hydrogen on the integrity of aluminium–oxide interface at elevated temperatures

Abstract

Hydrogen can facilitate the detachment of protective oxide layer off metals and alloys. The degradation is usually exacerbated at elevated temperatures in many industrial applications; however, its origin remains poorly understood. Here by heating hydrogenated aluminium inside an environmental transmission electron microscope, we show that hydrogen exposure of just a few minutes can greatly degrade the high temperature integrity of metal–oxide interface. Moreover, there exists a critical temperature of ∼150 °C, above which the growth of cavities at the metal–oxide interface reverses to shrinkage, followed by the formation of a few giant cavities. Vacancy supersaturation, activation of a long-range diffusion pathway along the detached interface and the dissociation of hydrogen-vacancy complexes are critical factors affecting this behaviour. These results enrich the understanding of hydrogen-induced interfacial failure at elevated temperatures.

Revealing the role of lattice distortions in the hydrogen-induced metal-insulator transition of SmNiO3

“…For example, it may be possible that the orbital reconfiguration of nickel is also achievable via kinetic processes during hydrogenation even without the physical presence of (or doping by) the hydrogen elements. This is seen previously from the irreversibility of hydrogen-induced defect behaviors, such as hydrogen embrittlement 10,11 , cavitation/blistering 12 , and interface failure 13 , owing to the defects that are formed or developed in the hydrogen diffusion path 10–15 . Finding the root causes of hydrogen-induced switching in correlated electron states by quantifying the hydrogen composition is critical within the field of hydrogen-induced strong correlations in condensed matter.…”

Hydrogen blistering under extreme radiation conditions

“…It suggests that blistering is a discontinuous process. Initially, excess hydrogen agglomerate at the interface between aluminium and the protective oxide layer; 15,19,21 stage marked with green colour. The hydrogen is also collected in different kinds of defects which are natural traps for diffusing interstitial atomic hydrogen.…”

Hydrogen induced trap states in TiO2 probed by resonant X-ray photoemission

“…8,9 A similar behavior is found in corrosion, where the inertness of an oxide layer on a metal against hydrogen is the Send correspondence to A. Borgschulte: E-mail: andreas.borgschulte@empa.ch, Telephone: +41 58 765 4639 key parameter for achieving high corrosion resistance. 10 Finally, the efficiency of the production of renewable hydrogen depends on the electro-catalytic properties of the electrodes used, and in case of photocatalytic water splitting on the light absorbance of the photoanodes/cathodes. The photocathode is unavoidably in contact with highly reactive hydrogen.…”