Related papers: Elucidating the initial steps in {\alpha}-uranium …
The long-term safety of water-based nuclear reactors relies in part on the reliability of zirconium-based nuclear fuel. Yet the progressive ingress of hydrogen during service makes zirconium alloys subject to delayed hydride cracking. Here,…
Hydrogen-induced pitting corrosion of metallic is a common phenomenon that damages the integrity and durability of the materials. Its numerical simulation is still a challenge due to many complex mechanisms, especially solid-solid phase…
Zirconium alloys are used as nuclear fuel cladding material due to their mechanical and corrosion resistant properties together with their favorable cross-section for neutron scattering. At running conditions, however, there will be an…
Zirconium alloys are widely used in the nuclear industry because of their high strength, good corrosion resistance and low neutron absorption cross-section. However, zirconium has strong affinity for hydrogen which leads to hydrogen…
We present Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics simulations of the initial reaction steps leading to an inert oxide layer on aluminium. The mechanism of the reaction of the aluminium surface with single oxygen molecules is analysed. After…
Through millennia humans exploited the natural property of metals to get stronger or hardened when mechanically deformed. Ultimately rooted in the motion of dislocations, mechanisms of metal hardening remained in the crosshairs of physical…
One of the main degradation mechanisms of the zirconium alloys used in nuclear reactors is hydrogen embrittlement and hydride formation. The formation of zirconium hydrides is accompanied by a transformation strain, the effects of which on…
Water-metal interfaces are ubiquitous and play a key role in many chemical processes, from catalysis to corrosion. Whereas water adlayers on atomically flat transition metal surfaces have been investigated in depth, little is known about…
Formation of thin uranium hydrides films, UH2 and \b{eta}-UH3, synthesized by a reactive dc sputtering of uranium metal, was explored using variable deposition conditions. Obtained stable oxygen-free hydride films were studied by a variety…
The targeted and efficient CO2 reduction remains an appealing option to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and transform it into value-added chemicals. The formation of methylene and subsequent dimerization to ethylene is one possible step in…
Observing solute hydrogen (H) in matter is a formidable challenge, yet, enabling quantitative imaging of H at the atomic-scale is critical to understand its deleterious influence on the mechanical strength of many metallic alloys that has…
Metal hydrides are critical materials in numerous technologies including hydrogen storage, gas separation, and electrocatalysis. Here, using Pd-H as a model metal hydride, we perform electrochemical insertion studies of hydrogen via liquid…
Nucleation phenomena commonly observed in our every day life are of fundamental, technological and societal importance in many areas, but some of their most intimate mechanisms remain however to be unravelled. Crystal nucleation, the early…
A recent alternative for hydrogen transportation as a mixture with natural gas is blending it into natural gas pipelines. However, hydrogen embrittlement of material is a major concern for scientists and gas installation designers to avoid…
Metal hydrides can be tuned to have a diverse range of properties and find applications in hydrogen storage and superconductivity. Finding methods to control the synthesis of hydrides can open up new pathways to unlock novel hydride…
Hydrogen embrittlement in metals is strongly governed by hydrogen diffusion and trapping, yet predicting these effects in polycrystalline systems remains challenging. This work introduces a multiscale modeling framework that links atomistic…
This study clarifies the hydrogen embrittlement (HE) behavior in a 1.5 GPa ferrite-martensite dual-phase (DP) steel. Hydrogen pre-charging (3.8 mass ppm diffusible hydrogen), followed by slow strain tensile testing (10-4 s-1), resulted in a…
Hydrogen embrittlement of metals and alloys, particularly steels, has been an important scientific and engineering challenge in the Oil and Gas industry for many years. It impacts the integrity and performance of a wide range of structures…
Hydrogen is key in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in materials production. At the same time, it significantly affects mechanical properties, often causing unwanted embrittlement. However, rather than solely addressing these…
The nitrides of group III metals: AlN, GaN and InN are very important materials due to their applications for short wavelength opto-electronics (light-emitting diodes and laser diodes). It is essential for the realization of such novel…