In-situ ToF-SIMS analyses of deuterium re-distribution in austenitic steel AISI 304L under mechanical load

Abstract

Hydrocarbons fuel our economy. furthermore, intermediate goods and consumer products are often hydrocarbon-based. Beside all the progress they made possible, hydrogen-containing substances can have severe detrimental effects on materials exposed to them. Hydrogen-assisted failure of iron alloys has been recognised more than a century ago. the present study aims to providing further insight into the degradation of the austenitic stainless steel AISI 304L (EN 1.4307) exposed to hydrogen. To this end, samples were electrochemically charged with the hydrogen isotope deuterium (2 H, D) and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) and timeof-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). It was found that deuterium caused a phase transformation from the original γ austenite into εand α'-martensite. Despite their low solubility for hydrogen, viz. deuterium, the newly formed phases showed high deuterium concentration which was attributed to the increased density of traps. information about the behaviour of deuterium in the material subjected to external mechanical load was gathered. A four-point-bending device was developed for this purpose. this allowed to analyse in-situ pre-charged samples in the tof-SiMS during the application of external mechanical load. The results indicate a movement of deuterium towards the regions of highest stress. Researchers already warned against climate change in the 1970s, but only the "special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels", published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) together with massive civic engagement, brought this topic back to the agendas of policymakers 1,2. Man-made global warming ultimately causes extinction of species, desertification, poverty and migration and its ramifications will affect mankind as a whole. Taking action to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in sectors such as energy production, transportation, mobility and industry are now more important than ever. Among other measures, the transition towards renewable energy sources like wind and solar power is necessary and inevitable to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases. However, these technologies face us with the problem of storing the generated electricity. Converting electrical energy into chemical energy through the formation of hydrogen and methane is a suitable way for this purpose. These gases can be stored, transported and used to regenerate electrical energy. Establishing a reliable infrastructure for this power-togas grid requires further investigation in every aspect of the chain, from conversion efficiency to safety of components such as pipelines exposed to high concentrations of hydrogen. This is necessary because the suitability of materials used for this hydrogen-infrastructure is still not fully clarified 3. Moreover, hydrogen-induced degradation of such components can cause high economic and environmental costs 4. Hydrogen-assisted damages of steels already used in the fo...

Interaction Mechanism and Electronic Dynamics between Defects and Hydrogen Atoms in TiO2 Thin Films

“…The Raman peak characteristics of the defects detected in this work are consistent with previous studies. 22,24 Given the advantages of ToF-SIMS, including minimal sample damage, high sensitivity, high spatial resolution, and high mass resolution, 25,26 this work employed it to investigate the depth profiles of hydrogen atoms in rutile and anatase TiO 2 with different defect structures. Due to the extremely low solubility of hydrogen in TiO 2 , most of the hydrogen detected during offline ToF-SIMS analysis after precharging was bound within the TiO 2 film.…”

Analysis of Hydrogen in Inorganic Materials and Coatings: A Critical Review

“…In the area of metals, an example of a sophisticated analysis involving 2D SIMS mapping is the study of the redistribution of deuterium in the AISI 304L austenitic steel subjected to external mechanical load [82]. Another example is the analysis of hydrogen diffusion through the oxide layer formed on nickel base alloys in water at a high temperature and high pressure, employing a deuterium tracer [83].…”

Fusing ToF‐SIMS Images for Spatial‐Spectral Resolution Enhancement using a Convolutional Neural Network

“…[ 16 ] Other groups have simply visualized complementary images as overlays and completed correlative analyses, also referring to these workflows as fusion methods. [ 17–19 ]…”

“…[16] Other groups have simply visualized complementary images as overlays and completed correlative analyses, also referring to these workflows as fusion methods. [17][18][19] While many of these approaches have proven useful, and have demonstrated enhanced ion image resolution, they are not suitable for the fusion of two hyperspectral ToF-SIMS imaging data sets. This is because the fusion of individual ion images will be ineffective when two or more high mass resolution peaks correspond to a single low mass resolution peak, the exact problem we are attempting to address in this work.…”