Pd–Pb nanoscale films as surface modifiers of Pd,Cu alloy membranes used for hydrogen ultrapurification

The purpose of the article is to reveal the role of the thickness of the layer of the lead-palladium alloy deposited on a copper-palladium membrane in the processes of cathodic injection and the anodic extraction of atomic hydrogen.The objects of the study were ~ 4 μm thick copper-palladium film electrodes obtained by magnetron sputtering of a target with a composition of 56 at. % Cu and 44 at. % Pd. The studies were carried out by cyclic voltammetry and double step anodic-cathodic chronoamperometry in a deaerated 0.1 М H2SO4 aqueous solution. The calculation of the parameters of hydrogen permeability for samples of finite thickness was carried out by mathematical modelling.Cathodic injection and anodic extraction of atomic hydrogen were used to study the effect of the surface modification of the foil membrane of a Pd-Cu solid solution on the diffusion and kinetic parameters of hydrogen permeability. It was found that even a small addition of Pd-Pb (a 2 nm thick film) leads to a decrease in the concentration of atomic hydrogen and the diffusion coefficient in the foil. With an increase in the thickness of the coating there is an increase in the diffusion parameters of the hydrogen injection and extraction processes. However, the hydrogen permeability does not reach the level of the unmodified alloy. The main kinetic parameter, the hydrogen extraction rate constant, changes nonlinearly with an increase in the thickness of the coating.