ION-BEAM SPUTTER COATING OF TANTALUM TUBE INNER WALLS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST HYDROGEN EMBRITTLEMENT

Tantalum, which is used in the chemical industry as a construction mat erial, suffers from hydrogen embrittlement when it is corroded in cont act with acids. In order to prevent tantalum tubes from embrittlement, their inner walls were sputter coated with platinum films by ion bomb ardment of a conical sputter target inside the tube. Electrochemical a nd immersion corrosion tests show that the deposited platinum films re duce the uptake of hydrogen and the embrittlement of the tantalum tube s by a factor of five.