A thermal desorption spectroscopy study of hydrogen trapping in polycrystalline α-uranium

The kinetics of hydrogen desorption from polycrystalline α-uranium (α-U) was examined using thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS). The goal was to identify the major trap sites for hydrogen and their associated trap energies. In polycrystalline α-U six TDS adsorption peaks were observed at temperatures of 521 K, 556 K, 607 K, 681 K, 793 K and 905 K. In addition, the desorption was determined to be second order based on peak shape. The position of the first three peaks was consistent with desorption from UH3. To identify the trap site corresponding to the high temperature peaks the data were compared to a plastically deformed sample and a high purity single crystal sample. The plastically deformed sample allowed the identification of trapping at dislocations while the single crystal sample allow for the identification of high angle boundaries and impurities. With respect to the desorption energy associated with each peak, values between 12.9 and 26.5 kJ/mole were measured.