Competitive Surface Interactions of Water Vapor and Oxygen on Ni3(Al,Ti) and Ni3Fe Surfaces

"The interaction of water vapor with single crystal Ni3(Al,Ti) and polycrystalline Ni3Fe, with and without the presence of oxygen, has been studied with Auger electron spectroscopy, photoemission spectroscopy, thermal desorption and isotope exchange. Water dissociates to produce atomic hydrogen above 200 K on both Ni3(Al,Ti) and Ni3Fe surfaces. For Ni3(Al, Ti), the reaction is structure-sensitive. Pre-adsorbed or co-adsorbed oxygen on Ni3(Al,Ti) and Ni3Fe significantly suppresses hydrogen production due to water dissociation. This suppression process occurs more efficiently on Ni3Fe than Ni3(Al, Ti).IntroductionOrdered intermetallic compounds such as aluminides, silicides and titanides are very attractive for structural applications at high temperatures. This is because these intermetallics tend to form adherent oxides in oxidizing environments which protect the base materials from excessive oxidation and corrosion. In addition, they have low density, relatively high melting points and good high-temperature strength. However, the moisture in air severely embrittles many ordered intermetallics such as FeAl [1-3], Fe3A1 [4,5], C03Ti [6,7], (Co,Fe)) V [8], Ni3Si [9], Ni3(Si,Ti) [10], Ni3(AI,Mn) [Ill, and Ni3A1 [12-14], resulting in low 'ductility and brittle fracture at room temperature. Recent studies by Liu and coworkers (see review by George and Liu [15]) provide a qualitative description of the mechanism for this moisture-induced embrittlement. During elongation testing, cracks are formed, thus exposing fresh alloy surfaces. One or more active components of the alloy react with water vapor in the environment to produce atomic hydrogen which penetrates into crack tips and causes hydrogen embrittlement. This is similar to that proposed for moisture-induced embrittlement of aluminum alloys [16]."