Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026
06:44
Tuning Oxide Properties by Oxygen Vacancy Control During Growth and Annealing
Published on: June 9, 2023
3.8K
Vacancy trapping mechanism for multiple hydrogen and helium in beryllium: a first-principles study
Pengbo Zhang1, Jijun Zhao, Bin Wen
1Key Laboratory of Materials Modification by Laser, Ion and Electron Beams (Dalian University of Technology), Ministry of Education, Dalian 116024, People's Republic of China.
Summary
Hydrogen (H) and Helium (He) preferentially trap at vacancy defects in Beryllium (Be), explaining bubble formation. Vacancies act as nucleation sites for H and He gas bubbles in Be materials.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Computational Physics
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Understanding hydrogen (H) and helium (He) interactions with defects is crucial for materials used in nuclear applications.
- Bubble formation of H and He in Beryllium (Be) has been experimentally observed at vacancy defects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the microscopic mechanism of H and He trapping by vacancy defects in a Be host lattice.
- To elucidate the role of vacancies in the nucleation of H and He bubbles.
Main Methods:
- First-principles calculations were employed to simulate H and He interactions with vacancies in Be.
- Diffusion barriers and atom accommodation within monovacancies were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Helium (He) atoms prefer vacancy sites over interstitial sites, unlike Hydrogen (H).
- Both H and He exhibit reduced diffusion barriers towards vacancies compared to diffusion in perfect Be.
- Monovacancies can accommodate up to five H atoms or 12 He atoms, with weaker Be-He interactions than Be-H.
Conclusions:
- The strong trapping tendency of H and He at vacancies explains their experimental observation at these defects.
- Vacancies serve as primary nucleation sites for H and He gas bubbles within Be materials.
Related Concept Videos
03:06The Pauli Exclusion Principle
59.2K
The arrangement of electrons in the orbitals of an atom is called its electron configuration. We describe an electron configuration with a symbol that contains three pieces of information:
59.2K
00:26Hydrogen Bonds
132.7K
Hydrogen bonds are weak attractions between atoms that have formed other chemical bonds. One of these atoms is electronegative, like oxygen, and has a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that has bonded with another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge.
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!
Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are unequally shared....
132.7K
01:04Hydrogen Bonds
13.9K
A hydrogen bond is formed when a weakly positive hydrogen atom already bonded to one electronegative atom (for example, the oxygen in the water molecule) is attracted to another electronegative atom from another polar molecule, such as water (H2O), hydrogen fluoride (HF), or ammonia (NH3). The huge electronegativity difference between the H atom (2.1) and the atom to which it is bonded (4.0 for an F atom, 3.5 for an O atom, or 3.0 for an N atom), combined with the very small size of an H atom...
13.9K
04:08The Uncertainty Principle
31.8K
Werner Heisenberg considered the limits of how accurately one can measure properties of an electron or other microscopic particles. He determined that there is a fundamental limit to how accurately one can measure both a particle’s position and its momentum simultaneously. The more accurate the measurement of the momentum of a particle is known, the less accurate the position at that time is known and vice versa. This is what is now called the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. He...
31.8K
01:41Social Traps
26.9K
Social traps are negative situations where people get caught in a direction or relationship that later proves to be unpleasant, with no easy way to back out of or avoid. The concept was orignally introduced by John Platt who applied psychology to Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", where in New England herd owners could let their cattle graze in the common ground. This situation seems like a good idea, but an individual could have an advantage. If they owned...
26.9K
03:02The Aufbau Principle and Hund's Rule
72.6K
To determine the electron configuration for any particular atom, we can build the structures in the order of atomic numbers. Beginning with hydrogen, and continuing across the periods of the periodic table, we add one proton at a time to the nucleus and one electron to the proper subshell until we have described the electron configurations of all the elements. This procedure is called the aufbau principle, from the German word aufbau (“to build up”). Each added electron occupies the...
72.6K