The association of hydrogen with nanometre bubbles of helium implanted into zirconium

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used to investigate the association of hydrogen with helium bubbles in zirconium. Conventional EELS data yield a signal at 13.5 eV (similar to the hydrogen K-edge, 13 eV), which is spatially distributed around the peripheries of bubbles and may correlate w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Blackmur, MS, Dumbill, S, Maclaren, I, Hernandez-Maldonado, D, Styman, PD, Gass, M, Nicholls, RJ, Hyde, JM, Ramasse, QM, Annand, KJ, Smith, JS, Gotham, N
Format: Journal article
Published: Elsevier 2018
Description
Summary:Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) is used to investigate the association of hydrogen with helium bubbles in zirconium. Conventional EELS data yield a signal at 13.5 eV (similar to the hydrogen K-edge, 13 eV), which is spatially distributed around the peripheries of bubbles and may correlate with the concentration of hydrogen/deuterium in the material. Ultra-high energy resolution EELS yields a signal at 148.6 meV (comparable to a range of ZrH bonds, 130–156 meV) from a region containing bubbles and no visible hydrides. These signals are interpreted in the context of either bubble surface chemisorption or bubble stress field trapping mechanisms.