Electrical conductivity of Pd47Ni47Si6 amorphous membrane while hydrogen permeation

Hydrogen diffusion through an amorphous membrane causes local disorders in the structure which can be detected through the measurement of changes of the electrical conductivity. Detecting these changes and comparing them directly with the amount of the permeated hydrogen provides information on the efficiency of separation, which can be used in hydrogen sensor and analyzer technology. This paper presents the results of electrical resistivity measurement of Pd47Ni47Si6 alloy amorphous membrane while hydrogen permeation flux was being changed along with the temperature. It was found that hydrogen changes the nature of the resistivity and the temperature coefficient of resistivity is negative, however, starting from the temperature of 365 K, its value becomes smaller. In order to explain this phenomenon thorough and detailed measurements of phase transitions were made with the use of differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffractometry. On the basis of the research an attempt was made to explain the recorded changes of electrical conductivity.