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Duplex (DSS) and austenitic stainless steels (ASS) are frequently used in many energy related applications. The duplex grade is considered to have outstanding mechanical properties as well as good corrosion resistance. The austenitic phase combines high ductility, even at low temperatures, with sufficient strength, and therefore such materials are applied in storage and transport of high-pressure hydrogen. During service in acidic environments large amounts of hydrogen can ingress into the microstructure and induce many changes in the mechanical properties of the steel. Embrittlement of steels by hydrogen remains unclear even though this topic has been intensively studied for several decades. The reason for that lies in the inability to validate the proposed theoretical models in the sub-micron scale. Among the very few available methods nowadays, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) enables a highly accurate mapping of hydrogen in the microstructure in a spatial resolution below 100 nm. In the present work ToF-SIMS was used as a main tool in order to investigate the effect of deuterium on a duplex microstructure of lean and standard DSSs during and after the electrochemical charging process. Electrochemical charging simulates the service of a component in acidic environments under conditions of cathodic protection that are commonly applied to prevent corrosion reactions. ToF-SIMS after multivariate data analysis (MVA) was combined with high resolution topographic images and electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) data to characterize the structural changes. It was observed that the ferritic phase was affected almost identical in all steels whereas in the austenitic phase significant differences were obtained in the lean duplex in comparison to the standard DSS. The obtained results have been compared to similar investigations on a AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel. The advantage of the combined techniques is reflected by the ability to correlate the hydrogen distribution in the microstructure and the resulted phase transformation.
In the presented research, the high potential and abilities of secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to detect and locally map the hydrogen distribution in two types of duplex stainless steels are shown. The research validates certain proposed mechanisms by combining ToF-SIMS with high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and electron-backscattered diffraction. The combination of data from several techniques on the same region was conducted in this field for the first time by applying data treatment of the ToF-SIMS raw data and data fusion approach. This powerful combination of methods allows reviewing of the occurring processes related to hydrogen assisted cracking. The step beyond the state of the art in this field was gained here by developing permeation and mechanical loading experiments within the ToF-SIMS during chemometric imaging of the hydrogen distribution in the microstructure. The research presents the necessary correlation between the hydrogen distribution and the resulted structural changes, the diffusion behavior in a duplex microstructure and stress induced diffusion of hydrogen by applying external load at the microscale.
Due to its low mass and high diffusivity in presence of compositional, thermal and mechanical gradients, hydrogen within a metallic microstructure can result in severe loss in ductility even at low concentrations and might lead eventually to a catastrophic and unpredictable failure of structural components during service. In this context, hydrogen mapping at the microscale is still considered among the most important challenges on the pathway towards a better understanding of the hydrogen transport and assisted cracking phenomena in metals, specifically in structural components, e.g. steels.
Among the very few available techniques to localize hydrogen at the microscale, Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was proven to be a reliable tool. Based on the assumption that deuterium influence the microstructure similarly to hydrogen, in the following contribution ToF-SIMS was applied as the main technique to detect and locally map the deuterium distribution in several alloys: lean 2101 and standard 2205 duplex stainless steel (DSS), AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel and titanium 6Al-4V alloy. These alloys were selected as case studies in this work due to the wide use of them in many applications and environments which frequently provide critical conditions for hydrogen absorption and assisted degradation.
The innovative design of in-situ and ex-situ experiments enabled us to elucidate the permeation, transport and trapping of deuterium in the microstructure in sub-micron resolution for the first time. In addition to the novel experimental setups, further progress was gained by applying computational multivariate data analysis (MVA) on the raw data and data fusion with high resolution structural characterization methods (scanning electron microscopy and electron back-scattered diffraction – SEM/EBSD). This combination allowed us to correlate the deuterium distribution and the influence on the microstructure.
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 (2H, D) and analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). It was found that deuterium caused a phase transformation from the original γ austenite into ε- and 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.
The damaging impact of hydrogen on the austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 L was analysed.
To this aim, samples were charged electrochemically with the hydrogen isotope deuterium (2H, D) and examined with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The fusion of the obtained chemical and structural information revealed local enrichment of deuterium in austenite, transformation into martensite, crack formation and severe roughening of the specimen surface. The results indicated that martensite was not only formed during charging but also during Desorption and ToF-SIMS examinations. Furthermore, cross-sections of deuterium-charged samples revealed that in preferred deformation bands a g/ε/a 0 evolution is taking place.
By means of microscopic analyses and carrier gas hot extraction (CGHE), it was found that the use of NaAsO2 as recombination poison decreased the uptake of hydrogen significantly and resulted in severe precipitation on the specimen surfaces. This is in contrast to the popular presumption that NaAsO2 enhances the uptake of hydrogen (and
deuterium) during electrochemical charging by hampering its recombination from Atoms to molecules.
Among the very few techniques to localize hydrogen (H) at the microscale in steels, Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was proven to be a reliable tool. The necessity to detect hydrogen stems from its deleterious effects in metals, that are often used as structural components and to obtain better understanding of the underlying metallurgical mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement (HE) which are still unclear.
Austenitic stainless steels are nowadays commonly used in a wide variety of application, from hydrogen transport and storage facilities to petrochemical and offshore applications where they are exposed to aggressive environments and therefore prone to HE. One of the greater risks in the austenitic class is the embrittlement of the material due to the instability of the γ austenite and its transformation into a brittle α martensitic phase. This transformation takes place due to the local stresses that are induced by the uptake of hydrogen during service. Nonetheless, it was shown that this transformation can occur as an artefact during SIMS analysis itself where Cs-sputtering is necessary not only to remove surface contaminations but mainly to enhance H/D secondary ion yield.
In the following contribution we show the influence of different sputtering conditions on AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel in order to distinguish the artefact from the hydrogen induced transformation. The material was charged electrochemically in a deuterium based electrolyte. Deuterium (D) must be in these experiments as a replacement for hydrogen which cannot be used because adsorbed hydrogen superimposes hydrogen originating from charging the sample in the SIMS images. ToF-SIMS analyses were conducted by ToF SIMS IV (IONTOF GmbH, Münster, Germany). The experiments were carried out on deuterium charged and non-charged samples. The structural characterization was carried out by SEM and EBSD examinations before and after charging, both with a Leo Gemeni 1530VP field-emission scanning electron microscope and a Zeiss Supra 40 instrument (Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH, Oberkochen, Germany). The results showed that the use of 1keV Cs+ beam induces stacking faults while higher sputter beam energies results in γ→α transformation.
During the energy transformation from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, the use of hydrogen as fuel and energy storage can play a key role. This presents new challenges to industry and the scientific community alike. The storage and transport of hydrogen, which is nowadays mainly realized by austenitic stainless steels, remains problematic, which is due to the degradation of mechanical properties and the possibility of phase transformation by hydrogen diffusion and accumulation. The development of materials and technologies requires a fundamental understanding of these degradation processes. Therefore, studying the behavior of hydrogen in austenitic steel contributes to an understanding of the damage processes, which is crucial for both life assessment and safe use of components in industry and transportation. As one of the few tools that is capable of depicting the distribution of hydrogen in steels, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry was conducted after electrochemical charging. To obtain further information about the structural composition and cracking behavior, electron-backscattered diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were performed. Gathered data of chemical composition and topography were treated employing data fusion, thus creating a comprehensive portrait of hydrogen-induced effects in the austenite grade AISI 304L. Specimens were electrochemically charged with deuterium instead of hydrogen. This arises from the difficulties to distinguish between artificially charged hydrogen and traces existing in the material or the rest gas in the analysis chamber. Similar diffusion and permeation behavior, as well as solubility, allow nonetheless to draw conclusions from the experiments.
Low-cost, high-efficient catalysts for water splitting can be potentially fulfilled by developing earthabundant metal oxides. In this work, surface galvanic formation of Co-OH on K0.45MnO2 (KMO) was achieved via the redox reaction of hydrated Co2+ with crystalline Mn4+. The synthesis method takes place at ambient temperature without using any surfactant agent or organic solvent, providing a clean, green route for the design of highly efficient catalysts. The redox reaction resulted in the formation of ultrathin Co-OH nanoflakes with high electrochemical surface area. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis confirmed the changes in the oxidation state of the bulk and
surface species on the Co-OH nanoflakes supported on the KMO. The effect of the anions, such as chloride, nitrate and sulfate, on the preparation of the catalyst was evaluated by electrochemical and spectrochemical means. XPS and Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analysis demonstrated that the layer of CoOxHy deposited on the KMO and its electronic structure strongly depend on the anion of the precursor used during the synthesis of the catalyst. In particular, it was found that Cl- favors the formation of Co-OH, changing the rate-determining step of the reaction, which enhances the catalytic activity towards the OER, producing the most active OER catalyst in alkaline media.