Nanoindentation of palladium β- hydride

Abstract

For decades hydrides were considered as brittle matters. Different experiments in model palladium-hydrogen system fulfilled in conditions in which hydride phase transformations took place confirmed this statement. We elaborated technique of palladium hydrogenation by the way 'out' of binary state cupola, so that saturated with hydrogen palladium does not undergone hydride phase transformation. Using the specially constructed hydrogenvacuum device and well known methods of tensile tests and nanoindentation we have shown that palladium hydride can be produced as material whose plasticity is as high as plasticity of pure annealed palladium and nanohardness of which is even 30% softer than that of pure annealed palladium. This is a fundamental result, changing the ideas about the nature of palladium hydrides properties.