A MECHANISTIC ANALYSIS OF HYDROGEN ENTRY INTO METALS DURING CATHODIC HYDROGEN CHARGING

Entry of hydrogen into metals degrades the mechanical properties of metals. These problems arise in the cathodic protection of metals, power plants, and in environments where H//2S is present as in petroleum refining where the hydrogen evolution reaction (h. e. r. ) and hydrogen permeation reaction take place in the corroding or cathodically polarized metal. By performing hydrogen charging experiments of thin samples using the Devanathan-Stachurski cell, the permeation characteristics have been studied. The paper seeks to analyze the h. e. r. mechanism and to predict the relationship between the permeation flux and the charging and evolution (recombination) fluxes.