Gorokhovsky V., Coulter K., Barton T., Swapp S., Thermal stability of magnetron sputter deposited NiZr alloys for hydrogen gas separation

Proc. of MS&T’2010, Houston TX 2010, pgs. 11
Abstract
Thin film amorphous alloy membranes are a promising new technology for hydrogen separation.
The ultimate goal of the project is to produce amorphous metallic membranes on porous stainless
steel supports. NiZr amorphous alloys have shown promise but their low crystallization
temperature limits their use in power plants. In this study, NiZr alloy films were deposited by cosputtering
from magnetrons with nickel and zirconium targets. The NiZr films were
characterized by EDS and RBS for elemental composition and XRD and SEM for phase
composition, structure and morphology. It was found that an increase in Zr content in films from
3 to 30 at. % induces a dramatic reduction in crystal size making this alloy almost amorphous at
15-30 at.% of Zr. The films with higher Zr content were further examined for their thermal
stability. The fabrication, characterization, and potential application of NiZr alloy thin films as
hydrogen separation membranes is discussed.