QENS measurement of hydrogen intercalation from the gas phase into bulk gallium alloys

Quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) was employed to elucidate the intercalation and accumulation behavior of hydrogen in liquid gallium and gallium-rich alloys before and after equilibration with a hydrogen/helium gas mixture. The QENS measurements resolve atomic-scale dynamics on Ångström-length and picosecond timescales, enabling determination of self-diffusion coefficients for liquid natural Ga and Ga-rich alloys (Ga0.98Cu0.02, Ga0.98Pd0.02, and Ga0.98Pt0.02) at T = 873 K. To assess potential hydrogen incorporation, stationary conditions were established with a 0.05 l/min He/H2 stream containing 20% H2 at 1.036 bar. Under these conditions, hydrogen uptake in both liquid pure Ga and the alloys remained well below 0.03 at. %, indicating negligible intercalation.