Hydrogen absorption into neutron-irradiated graphite and estimation of the trapping effect

Abstract

Bulk hydrogen retention and the analysis of absorption kinetics have been studied on graphite irradiated with neutrons at various conditions. Two kinds of hydrogen trapping sites may exist and be additionally produced during irradiation: interstitial cluster loop edge sites (trap 1) and carbon dangling bonds at edge surfaces of crystallites (trap 2). Neutron irradiation preferably creates trap 2 sites at lower fluences and trap 1 sites at a higher fluence. Trap 2 tends to be annealed out at high temperatures, although trap 1 is hardly decreased even at 1873 K. The activation energy of hydrogen diffusion is found to be increased from 1.04 to 1.60 eV by neutron irradiation.