Atom probe tomography observation of hydrogen in high-Mn steel and silver charged via an electrolytic route

•Deuterium charging via electrolytic methods in APT is investigated.•In Fe–Mn deuterium is identified in APT, without cryo transfer in the mass spectrum.•In an Ag coating, deuterium can be imaged spatially using APT.•Sample yield is seen to increase as a function of vacuum holding time.

We investigate an electrolytic route for hydrogen charging of metals and its detection in Atom Probe Tomography (APT) experiments. We charge an austenitic Fe-30Mn-8Al-1.2C (wt.%) weight reduced high-Mn steel and subsequently demonstrate the detectability of deuterium in an APT experiment. The experiment is repeated with a deposited Ag film upon an APT tip of a high-Mn steel. It is shown that a detectable deuterium signal can be seen in the high-Mn steel, and a D:H ratio of 0.84 can be reached in Ag films. Additionally, it was found that the predicted time constraint on detectability of D in APT was found to be lower than predicted by bulk diffusion for the high-Mn steel.