Investigation by STEM-EELS of helium density in nanobubbles formed in aged palladium tritides

Bérengère Evin (1) , E Leroy (2) , M. Segard (1) , Valérie Paul‐boncour (2) , S. Challet (1) , A. Fabre (1) , M. Latroche (2)

1 CEA - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives
2 ICMPE - Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris-Est

3He nanobubbles created by radioactive decay of tritium in palladium tritide are investigated after several years of aging. Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy – Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy (STEM-EELS) has been used to measure helium density from the helium K-edge around 23 eV. Helium densities were found between 20 and 140 (+/-30) He/nm3 and the corresponding nanobubble pressures range between 0.1 and 3 (+/-0.2) GPa. Measuring helium density and mapping He atoms by STEM-EELS enables to differentiate bubbles from empty cavities in the palladium tritide matrix.

Mots clés: nanobubble pressure; helium-3; STEM-EELS; Palladium tritride

Domaines: Chimie

Bérengère Evin, E Leroy, M. Segard, Valérie Paul‐boncour, S. Challet, et al.. Investigation by STEM-EELS of helium density in nanobubbles formed in aged palladium tritides. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2021, 878, pp.160267. ⟨10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.160267⟩. ⟨hal-03279753⟩