AVS 53rd International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Thursday Sessions
       Session AS-ThP

Paper AS-ThP26
Decomposition of Titanium Deuteride Films Protected by Ultra-Thin Pd Layers; Thermal Desorption Kinetics Studies Combined with Microstructure Analysis of Bimetallic Films

Thursday, November 16, 2006, 5:30 pm, Room 3rd Floor Lobby

Session: Aspects of Applied Surface Science Poster Session
Presenter: W. Lisowski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Authors: W. Lisowski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
E.G. Keim, University of Twente, The Netherlands
A.H.J. van den Berg, University of Twente, The Netherlands
M.A. Smithers, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Z. Kaszkur, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Correspondent: Click to Email
Thin titanium films can be applied as hydrogen storage material due to titanium hydride formation. Exposing hydrated Ti films to ambient conditions leads however, to a partial decomposition of titanium hydride.@footnote 1@ This can be prevented by covering such films by Pd.@footnote 2@ Here we present the results of TDMS, XRD, SEM, TEM and XPS, dealing with the question as to how TDMS controlled decomposition of titanium deuteride (TiD@sub y@) from films protected by Pd proceeds, and how TDMS heating affects the interface and bulk structure of such bimetallic films. TiD@sub y@ films were prepared in UHV conditions at 300 K by exposing 100 nm thick Ti films to D@sub 2@.@footnote 2@ The TiD@sub y@ phase formation which results from this volumetrically controlled adsorption procedure, previously detected by ToF-SIMS,@footnote 3@ was now confirmed by XRD. The TiD@sub y@ film was subsequently covered in-situ by a 6-20 nm thick Pd layer. Desorption of D@sub 2@ was monitored in situ by TDMS (see Ref. 4 for a description), all other analyses ex situ. It was found that a Pd layer, protecting the TiD@sub y@ films, only slightly changes the thermal desorption kinetics of D@sub 2@ from the TiD@sub y@ films. Thermal decomposition of TiD@sub y@ is accompanied by a structural transformation of TiD@sub y@ into an @alpha@-Ti phase, resulting in less plastically deformed Pd/Ti films. However, we observed also TDMS heating induced intermixing of Pd and Ti phases within the Pd/Ti interface. Complex structures, including Moiré patterns, have been identified. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@ W. Lisowski, A.H.J. van den Berg, M.A. Smithers (1998) Surf. Interface Anal. 26, 213 (1998). @footnote 2@ W. Lisowski, E.G. Keim, A.H.J. van den Berg, M.A. Smithers, Anal. Bioanal. Chem., in press.@footnote 3@ W. Lisowski, A.H.J. van den Berg, D. Leonard, H.J. Mathieu, Surf. Interface anal. 29, 292 (2000).@footnote 4@ W. Lisowski, E.G. Keim and M.A. Smithers, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A21, 545 (2003).