Influence of plasma immersion titanium implantation on hydrogenation and mechanical properties of Zr–2.5Nb

Abstract This paper describes the effect of plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) of titanium on hydrogenation behavior and mechanical properties of Zr–2.5Nb alloy. Surface morphology and depth distribution of elements in the surface layer of the samples were analyzed by scanning electron (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and glow-discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES). Hydrogenation was performed at 673 K temperature and 2 atm pressure. It was found that after titanium implantation a diffusion barrier is formed, accumulating hydrogen and preventing hydrogen penetration in the sample volume. The microdroplet content significantly influences the hydrogenation behavior of the zirconium alloy. Hydrogen sorption rate decreased 18.3 times and 4.3 times using filtered and unfiltered PIII, respectively. The mechanical properties of titanium-implanted zirconium layer were improved. The degradation of the mechanical properties after hydrogenation was revealed.