As the global energy market shifts from coal, petroleum fuel, and natural gas to more environmentally friendly primary energy sources, hydrogen is becoming a crucial pillar in the clean energy movement. Developing safe and cost-effective storage and transportation methods for hydrogen is essential but complicated given the interaction of hydrogen with structural materials. Hydrogen can cause brittleness in several metals including ferritic steel—high-chromium, magnetic stainless steels that have a low carbon content that are used in structural components of buildings, automobile gears and axles, and industrial equipment. Recent advancements in experimental tools and multiscale modeling are starting to provide insight into the embrittlement process. a) The arrowhead-shaped delaminations in stainless steel reveal cracks with significantly higher deuterium concentrations b) Secondary ion cross-sectional profile for one such delamination. Credit: O. Sobol, G. Holzlechner, G. Nolze, T. Wirth, D. Eliezer, T. Boellinghaus, and W.E.S. Unger A review of various methods, published […]