Towards Establishing Best Practice in the Analysis of Hydrogen and Deuterium by Atom Probe Tomography
Review article, 2024
As hydrogen is touted as a key player in the decarbonization of modern society, it is critical to enable quantitative hydrogen (H) analysis at high spatial resolution and, if possible, at the atomic scale. H has a known deleterious impact on the mechanical properties (strength, ductility, toughness) of most materials that can hinder their use as part of the infrastructure of a hydrogen-based economy. Enabling H mapping including local hydrogen concentration analyses at specific microstructural features is essential for understanding the multiple ways that H affect the properties of materials including embrittlement mechanisms and their synergies. In addition, spatial mapping and quantification of hydrogen isotopes is essential to accurately predict tritium inventory of future fusion power plants thus ensuring their safe and efficient operation. Atom probe tomography (APT) has the intrinsic capability to detect H and deuterium (D), and in principle the capacity for performing quantitative mapping of H within a material's microstructure. Yet, the accuracy and precision of H analysis by APT remain affected by complex field evaporation behavior and the influence of residual hydrogen from the ultrahigh vacuum chamber that can obscure the signal of H from within the material. The present article reports a summary of discussions at a focused workshop held at the Max-Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials in April 2024. The workshop was organized to pave the way to establishing best practices in reporting APT data for the analysis of H. We first summarize the key aspects of the intricacies of H analysis by APT and then propose a path for better reporting of the relevant data to support interpretation of APT-based H analysis in materials.
atom probe tomography
deuterium
hydrogen
Author
Baptiste Gault
Imperial College London
Max Planck Society
Aparna Saksena
Max Planck Society
Xavier Sauvage
INSA
Paul Bagot
University of Oxford
Leonardo S. Aota
Max Planck Society
Jonas Arlt
University of Göttingen
Lisa T. Belkacemi
Leibniz Institute for Materials Engineering IWT
Universität Bremen
Torben Boll
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Yi-sheng Chen
Nayang Technological University
University of Sydney
Luke Daly
University of Oxford
University of Glasgow
University of Sydney
Milos B. Djukic
University of Belgrade
James O. Douglas
Imperial College London
Maria J. Duarte
Max Planck Society
Peter J. Felfer
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
Richard G. Forbes
University of Surrey
Jing Fu
Monash University
Hazel M. Gardner
UK Atomic Energy Authority
Ryota Gemma
Tokai University
Stephan S A Gerstl
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)
Yilun Gong
University of Oxford
Max Planck Society
Guillaume Hachet
Max Planck Society
Severin Jakob
Chalmers, Physics, Microstructure Physics
Benjamin M. Jenkins
INSA
Megan E. Jones
National Nuclear Laboratory
Heena Khanchandani
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Paraskevas Kontis
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Mathias Krämer
Max Planck Society
Markus Kühbach
Humboldt University of Berlin
Ross K. W. Marceau
Deakin University
David Mayweg
Chalmers, Physics, Microstructure Physics
Katie L. Moore
University of Manchester
Varatharaja Nallathambi
Max Planck Society
University of Duisburg-Essen
Benedict C. Ott
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU)
Jonathan D. Poplawsky
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Ty Prosa
Cameca Instruments Inc.
Astrid Pundt
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Mainak Saha
National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Tim M. Schwarz
Max Planck Society
Yuanyuan Shang
Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
Xiao Shen
University of Kassel
Maria Vrellou
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Yuan Yu
RWTH Aachen University
Yujun Zhao
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Huan Zhao
Xi'an Jiaotong University
Bowen Zou
University of Kassel
Microscopy and Microanalysis
1431-9276 (ISSN) 1435-8115 (eISSN)
Vol. 30 6 1205-1220Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Materials Engineering
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
DOI
10.1093/mam/ozae081
PubMed
39226242