A novel way to enhance hydrogenation resistance of nano-layered titanium silicon carbide by the doping of aluminium

The outstanding irradiation and corrosion resistance of nano-layered Ti3SiC2 make it suitable for cladding materials in advanced nuclear systems. However, Ti3SiC2 shows the relatively poor thermal stability in hydrogen circumstance at high temperature, which is a big obstacle for its nuclear related applications. In this paper, we proposed an effective approach to improve the hydrogenation resistance of Ti3SiC2 by the doping of Al. The experimental results demonstrated that compared to pure Ti3SiC2, Ti3Si0.9Al0.1C2 (TSAC) displayed much better hydrogenation resistance. Through first-principles calculation, it was concluded that the introduction of H interstitial atom made the formation energy of Al vacancy much lower, so Al atoms became much easier to remove from TSAC than Si atoms and Ti atoms. The preferable loss of aluminium from TSAC substrate gave rise to the formation of Al2O3 layer, which improved the hydrogenation resistance of TSAC by inhibiting further reaction between TSAC and hydrogen.