Deuteron trapping in titanium

A tensimetric technique has been developed for measuring 15 keV D⁺ trapping in Ti metal. The formation of the TiD₂ phase in the surface and near-surface regions was monitored by decoupling the θ–2θ scan of an X-ray diffractometer as well as by scanning electron microscope studies. Micron-sized ‘reaction zones’ appear to serve as nucleation centers for the TiD₂ phase. Insight into the mechanism of chemical trapping is obtained by correlating the results from the three types of measurements used in the present work.