Features of Studying Atomic Hydrogen – Metal Systems

Abstract

All the main areas of energy development suggest or are already implementing the use of metal-hydrogen systems. For nuclear energy, this is associated with the creation of thermostable moderators and special-purpose construction materials, for thermonuclear energy, with the behavior of the so-called first wall of fusion reactors, for hydrogen energy — storage, transportation and extraction of hydrogen. Hydrogen is the most effective moderator of fast and thermal neutrons, especially at high volumetric concentrations of hydrogen atoms in the material, i.e. at a high value of the ratio of the number of hydrogen atoms to the number of metal atoms, taking into account the heat resistance of the hydride. This paper discusses the modern methods of experimental studies of heterogeneous reactions, the topochemistry of metal – hydrogen reactions, the dependence of the interaction rate on pressure and temperature, models of surface processes occurring during the interaction of hydrogen with metal.  Methods for determining the probability of adsorption of hydrogen on a metal surface, methods for measuring the activation energy of dissociation of a hydrogen molecule on a surface are also discussed. The paper describes the fea-tures of the preparation of the reactor, experimental samples and the method of their study in the study of atomic hydrogen-metal systems, the method of plasma-chemical thermogravimetry used to study heterogeneous reactions occurring in a hydrogen plasma electrodeless discharge. In order to study the mechanism of interaction of hydrogen with hydride-forming metals, a kinetic method of research is proposed. The essence of the kinetic method is that the elimination of the limiting influence of surface and diffusion processes on the rate of hydride formation using atomic hydrogen and metal foil makes it possible to directly record the formation of the corresponding phases using hydro-gen-metal kinetic curves, and also study the effect of various parameters on the rate of interaction and the formation of hydride phases.