Study on Hydrogen Barrier of Cr-C Alloy Fabricated by Electroplating upon Zirconium Hydride

A chromium-carbon alloy film on a surface of zirconium hydride sample was fabricated by electroplating, and zirconium hydride sample with Cr-C alloy fihn was heated at 700℃ for 144 hours. The test results for microstructure of zirconium hydride with XRD indicated that zirconium hydride had the same microstructure of ZrH_1.801 as what it had before electroplating and heating. It means that the film could be a hydrogen permeation barrier on the zirconium hydride. The composition and microstructure of film were analyzed with XPS and SEM. The results showed that the film was formed with Cr and C, and some O-H chemical bonding exist in the film and some C-H chemical bonding are able to exist in the film. It is believed that the existence of the two chemical bonding is the origin for the formation of hydrogen permeation barrier.