Investigation of hydrogenated V-based systems using ions and photons, a step towards in-situ IBA of metal hydrides

• Metal hydrides, based on transition metals, are a promising class of materials for hydrogen storage purposes. Understanding the effects of finite size and the presence of surfaces and interfaces in thermodynamics of hydrogen in these materials is an important step towards engineering hydride-based storage systems. In this work, hydride systems based on vanadium were studied by means of ion beam analysis (IBA), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical experiments. A series of thin vanadium films was grown using magnetron sputtering, with the aim of optimizing the growth conditions of the vanadium layer and improving the crystallinity of the produced films. Moreover, the correlation between the optical transmittance and the hydrogen concentration, probed through nuclear reaction analysis (NRA), of a Cr/V superlattice was studied, as a part of an on-going, large-scale investigation of proximity effects. Finally, motivated by the implications caused by the loss of hydrogen during the ex-situ hydrogenation and ion irradiation, a gas-cell aiming at performing IBA with the sample immersed in gaseous environment was designed. The effect of silicon-rich nitride membranes, holding the pressure gradient between vacuum and atmospheric pressure, on the energy and angular distribution of the primary ion beam, was studied theoretically and experimentally, proving the possibility of conducting real-space crystallographic studies using the proposed setup.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Metal Hydrides

Vanadium

In-Situ

NRA

IBA

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

lic (subject category)