Debye Temperature and Quantum Diffusion of Hydrogen in Body-Centered Cubic Metals.

Abstract

Diffusion of deuterium in potassium is studied herein. Mass transfer is controlled predominantly by the mechanism of overbarrier atomic jumps at temperatures 120–260 K and by the tunneling mechanism at 90–120 K. These results together with literature data allowed us to determine conditions under which the quantum diffusion of hydrogen in metals can be observed, which is a fundamental problem. It is established that in metals with a body-centered cubic lattice tunneling can be observed only at temperatures below the Debye temperature θD solely for metals with θD < 350 K. Predictions are made for metals in which quantum diffusion of hydrogen can be experimentally registered. Metals for which such results cannot be obtained are specified as well. Among them are important engineering materials such as α-Fe, W, Mo, V, and Cr.