{
  "abstract": "In this study, we systematically investigated the influence of residual water on the oxidation of titanium in an oxygen-free atmosphere at ambient pressure created using silane-doped argon. The study addresses a limitation of oxygen-free production: although molecular oxygen can be effectively scavenged by silane, residual moisture remains in the atmosphere and may act as an additional oxidising species for highly reactive metals. High-purity titanium samples (99.995%) were exposed for 10 min to oxygen-free atmospheres with controlled water concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 ppm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to analyse the resulting changes in the titanium chemical states and to determine the corresponding oxide thickness. In laboratory-scale reaction-chamber experiments, reducing the water concentration from 0.8 ppm to 0.2 ppm reduced the oxide thickness from 0.38 ± 0.09 nm to 0.12 ± 0.09 nm. In a glove box operated under comparable oxygen-free conditions, reducing the water concentration from 1.0 ppm to 0.1 ppm reduced the oxide thickness from 0.61 ± 0.09 nm to 0.23 ± 0.12 nm, corresponding to a reduction of approximately 62%. These results demonstrate that residual water causes measurable oxidation of titanium even after molecular oxygen has been removed and that moisture concentration is therefore an important process parameter for oxygen-free production. The findings show that further optimisation of oxygen-free atmospheres for highly reactive metals requires not only efficient oxygen scavenging but also stringent control of residual moisture.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Corresponding author.",
    "Clausthal Center of Materials Technology, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 3,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sascha Jan Zimmermann"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "René Gustus"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Wolfgang Maus-Friedrichs"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7f47v9dzhv77d.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.apsadv.2026.101084",
  "fulltext_url": "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666523926001546",
  "id": "7f47v9dzhv77d",
  "issns": [
    "2666-5239"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsadv.2026.101084",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "TA401-492"
    ],
    [
      "lcc",
      "TP250-261"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2505|Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7154612528",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-30",
  "publisher": "Elsevier",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7f47v9dzhv77d.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:44:31Z",
      "native_id": "66f932331a3146c19f7b056d1a928ea2",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsadv.2026.101084"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2505|Corrosion Behavior and Inhibition",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Enhancing protective gas atmospheres: Influence of trace moisture on the oxidation of titanium in oxygen-free atmospheres",
  "title_text": "Enhancing protective gas atmospheres: Influence of trace moisture on the oxidation of titanium in oxygen-free atmospheres",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:44:31Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7f47v9dzhv77d",
  "venue": "Applied Surface Science Advances",
  "versions": []
}