Temperature-dependent hydrogen uptake in pure iron: The role of the native oxide and interfacial trapping
Abstract
The role of the native iron oxide with regards hydrogen uptake in iron remains insufficiently understood, particularly under gaseous hydrogen at elevated temperature, where oxide reduction can modify the surface state during exposure. Here, pure iron was exposed to 1 bar H₂ using either uniform heating from room temperature to 700 °C or a two-stage protocol involving pre-reduction at 700 °C followed by exposure at lower temperature. Hydrogen depth profiles were measured by ToF-SIMS, while XPS and in situ XRD were used to characterize the nature of the initial oxide and its evolution under hydrogen. Under uniform heating, no significant hydrogen penetration into the iron substrate was detected up to 400 °C, confirming the barrier effect of the native oxide. Hydrogen uptake became measurable at 450-550 °C but was not enhanced at 650-700 °C. In contrast, prereduction at 700 °C markedly increased hydrogen uptake during subsequent exposure at 400-600 °C. In situ XRD showed that direct heating at 400 °C produced only partial hematite reduction, with magnetite, wüstite and metallic iron detected, whereas heating to 700 °C led to complete reduction to metallic iron. Hydrogen uptake is therefore governed not only by temperature, but also by the surface state established during exposure. Samples exhibiting hydrogen uptake also showed local enrichment near the oxide/metal interface. Degassing experiments indicated rapid hydrogen release from the substrate but slower depletion at the interface, consistent with transient interfacial trapping. Overall, the native oxide and its thermal evolution govern both hydrogen entry and near-surface redistribution in iron.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026temperaturedependent,
title = {{Temperature-dependent hydrogen uptake in pure iron: The role of the native oxide and interfacial trapping}},
author = {Minli Chen and Dimitri Mercier and Antoine Seyeux and Sandrine Zanna and Dominique Costa and Nathalie Crozet and Theodorus de Bruin and Gaurav R Joshi and Philippe Marcus},
journal = {Corrosion Science},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.corsci.2026.114286},
url = {https://ifp.hal.science/hal-05777625v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Temperature-dependent hydrogen uptake in pure iron: The role of the native oxide and interfacial trapping
AU - Minli Chen
AU - Dimitri Mercier
AU - Antoine Seyeux
AU - Sandrine Zanna
AU - Dominique Costa
AU - Nathalie Crozet
AU - Theodorus de Bruin
AU - Gaurav R Joshi
AU - Philippe Marcus
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Corrosion Science
DO - 10.1016/j.corsci.2026.114286
UR - https://ifp.hal.science/hal-05777625v1
AB - The role of the native iron oxide with regards hydrogen uptake in iron remains insufficiently understood, particularly under gaseous hydrogen at elevated temperature, where oxide reduction can modify the surface state during exposure. Here, pure iron was exposed to 1 bar H₂ using either uniform heating from room temperature to 700 °C or a two-stage protocol involving pre-reduction at 700 °C followed by exposure at lower temperature. Hydrogen depth profiles were measured by ToF-SIMS, while XPS and in situ XRD were used to characterize the nature of the initial oxide and its evolution under hydrogen. Under uniform heating, no significant hydrogen penetration into the iron substrate was detected up to 400 °C, confirming the barrier effect of the native oxide. Hydrogen uptake became measurable at 450-550 °C but was not enhanced at 650-700 °C. In contrast, prereduction at 700 °C markedly increased hydrogen uptake during subsequent exposure at 400-600 °C. In situ XRD showed that direct heating at 400 °C produced only partial hematite reduction, with magnetite, wüstite and metallic iron detected, whereas heating to 700 °C led to complete reduction to metallic iron. Hydrogen uptake is therefore governed not only by temperature, but also by the surface state established during exposure. Samples exhibiting hydrogen uptake also showed local enrichment near the oxide/metal interface. Degassing experiments indicated rapid hydrogen release from the substrate but slower depletion at the interface, consistent with transient interfacial trapping. Overall, the native oxide and its thermal evolution govern both hydrogen entry and near-surface redistribution in iron.
SN - 0010-938X
SN - 1879-0496
ER -