Ion-beam sputter coating of tantalum tube inner walls for protection against hydrogen embrittlement

Tantalum, which is used in the chemical industry as a construction material, suffers from hydrogen embrittlement when it is corroded in contact with acids. In order to prevent tantalum tubes from embrittlement, their inner walls were sputter coated with platinum films by ion bombardment of a conical sputter target inside the tube. Electrochemical and immersion corrosion tests show that the deposited platinum films reduce the uptake of hydrogen and the embrittlement of the tantalum tubes by a factor of five.