Effect of dislocation trapping on deuterium diffusion in deformed, single-crystal Pd

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) has been used to characterize deuterium trapping at dislocations in deformed, single-crystal Pd during in situ gas evolution experiments. Two methods of deformation were employed-cold rolling and hydride cycling-which create different dislocation arrangements or substructures in Pd. The reduction of the trapped deuterium concentration at dislocations during evolution was directly monitored with SANS. Exponential decay rates of the trapped concentration were observed for both sample types, as is expected in a bulk diffusion process modified by the dislocation trapping interaction. The deuterium concentration reduction proceeded 1.2 to 1.4 times faster in the cold-rolled sample material than in the cycled material. This is attributed to the presence of a smaller number of dislocation trapping sites in the cold-rolled material. The binding energy of deuterium at dislocations was determined by applying a diffusion-based model. A binding energy of 0.20 eV was found to characterize the trapping interaction in both cold-rolled and hydride-cycled Pd.