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INNOVATIONS: PRESENT&FUTURE
Scientist at Fraunhofer Develops Coating that Protects Steel from the Penetration of Hydrogen Katharina Hien Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM - Freiburg, Germany
katharina.hien@iwm.fraunhofer.de
Lukas Gröner of the Fraunhofer IWM, MikroTribologie Centrum μTC,
To provide a solution to this issue, in his doctoral thesis physicist Lukas
has developed a coating that effectively protects steel from the
Gröner1 developed and tested special coatings for steel components
penetration of hydrogen. The barrier effect of this so-called Al2O3/MAX-
that virtually prevent the penetration of atomic hydrogen, and
phase layer is 3500 times greater than that of untreated steel.
succeeded in producing thin MAX-phase coatings2 that protect steel
R
very well against corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. egeneratively produced hydrogen is an environmentally friendly
“MAX-phases have amazing properties because they combine
energy carrier, which can be used as fuel in cars or to generate
characteristics of both ceramics and metals”, explains Gröner.
electricity and heat in fuel cells. It can also be mixed with natural gas
In fact, MAX-phases, like ceramics, are insensitive to attack by oxygen
and used in gas-fired power plants to generate energy.
and very heat-resistant, but unlike pure ceramics, they are not brittle,
However, atomic hydrogen often induces brittle behaviour in metals
so they do not break. Moreover, they are electrically conductive like
at high temperatures, which can lead to component failure.
metals.
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N.35 - 2020 OCTOBER - ipcm® Protective Coatings
