Hydrogen uptake on film surfaces produced by a unique codeposition process

Hydrogen uptake on several different film surfaces has been achieved by deposition of a conventional hydrogen gettering system via a novel combination of physical vapor deposition (PVD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. We decided to use a conventional hydrogen gettering system, developed by Smith and Schicker [J.R. Schicker, AS/KCD Project No. EPN-047620, May 1994], that uses an acetylenic organic compound mixed with carbon supported palladium metal. The organic material, 1,4-bis-(phenylethynyl) benzene (DEB), is mixed with palladium and carbon by employing conventional solid state ceramic preparative techniques. Our novel codeposition process combines PVD and CVD techniques for fabricating thin-film coatings of the palladium-catalyzed DEB hydrogen gettering system. Hydrogen uptake was confirmed by 1H NMR and our novel process lends itself well to placing hydrogen getter onto complex shapes and substrates of various compositions.