Abstract
The formation of vanadium surface oxides and their influence on the absorption of hydrogen were studied by XPS and TDMS methods. Vanadium hereby serves as a model system for hydrogen metal interaction. Different stable and unstable oxides indicated by the oxidation number of vanadium have been investigated: oxidation number +5 corresponding to stable V 2 O 5 ; oxidation number +3 corresponding to stable V 2 O 3 and lower than +3, corresponding to unstable oxides. Exposure of a cleaned V sample to different oxygen dosages (1 L - 1000 L, P O2 = 1 × 10 -4 Pa) at room temperature leads to the formation of unstable oxides with oxidation numbers smaller than 3. V-O bondings break up at temperatures higher than 290°C and oxygen desorbs. Besides the dosage the oxide formation is also influenced by the temperature. All these oxides act as surface barriers and prevent the absorption of hydrogen by vanadium.
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