Direct observation of individual hydrogen atoms at trapping sites in a ferritic steel
Heavy hydrogen gets frozen in place
Hydrogen embrittlement contributes to the failure of steel in a wide variety of everyday applications. Various strategies to mitigate hydrogen embrittlement, such as adding carbides into the steel, are hard to validate because we are unable to map the hydrogen atoms. Chen et al. combined fluxing steel samples with deuterium and a cryogenic transfer protocol to minimize hydrogen diffusion, allowing for detailed structural analysis (see the Perspective by Cairney). Their findings revealed hydrogen trapped in the cores of the carbide precipitates. The technique will be applicable to a wide range of problems, including corrosion, catalysis, and hydrogen storage.
Abstract
The design of atomic-scale microstructural traps to limit the diffusion of hydrogen is one key strategy in the development of hydrogen-embrittlement–resistant materials. In the case of bearing steels, an effective trapping mechanism may be the incorporation of finely dispersed V-Mo-Nb carbides in a ferrite matrix. First, we charged a ferritic steel with deuterium by means of electrolytic loading to achieve a high hydrogen concentration. We then immobilized it in the microstructure with a cryogenic transfer protocol before atom probe tomography (APT) analysis. Using APT, we show trapping of hydrogen within the core of these carbides with quantitative composition profiles. Furthermore, with this method the experiment can be feasibly replicated in any APT-equipped laboratory by using a simple cold chain.
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Supplementary Material
Summary
Materials and Methods
Figs. S1 to S3
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Science
Volume 355 | Issue 6330
17 March 2017
17 March 2017
Copyright
Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 17 November 2016
Accepted: 21 February 2017
Published in print: 17 March 2017
Acknowledgments
Data can be accessed online, via the Oxford Research Archive: https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:70dde71c-6b82-4e85-a31a-985de733faaa. The authors acknowledge the support of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council HeMs project, EP/L014742/1 and the platform grant EP/M022803/1. Y.-S.C. acknowledges support from the Ministry of Education of Taiwan. S.S.A.G. and R.A.W. acknowledge support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (206021_128732/1). Y.-S.C. conducted the charging experiments, prepared samples, optimized the charging process, and undertook the data collection and analysis. D.H. designed the charging unit and original experimental procedure, aided with the charging experiments and data analysis, and wrote the manuscript. S.S.A.G. and R.A.W. designed, constructed, and optimized the cryogenic transfer system. S.S.A.G. additionally designed the cryo experimental procedure and aided in conducting the charged experiments with cryo-transfer and acquiring the data. A.J.L. developed and applied the superimposed particle analysis procedure. W.M.R. provided the nanoprecipitated carbide steel, and F.S. undertook TEM observations. M.P.M., P.A.J.B., and W.M.R. are principal investigators on the HeMs project for this work package.
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Funding Information
Swiss National Science Foundation: 206021_128732/1
Ministry of Education of Taiwan
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