Hydrogen-induced lattice cohesion weakening favors atomic displacement

Abstract

Atomic displacement -- the fundamental process underlying diverse deformation and damage phenomena in metals, from irradiation defect production to stress-driven dislocation motion -- is governed by interatomic cohesion strength. Here, lattice-dissolved hydrogen (LDH) occurring in metals under direct hydrogen exposure is identified to effectively weaken lattice cohesion, and thereby facilitating atomic displacement and dislocation movement upon plastic deformation in sub-threshold stress regime. This atomic-scale insight provides a physically transparent mechanism for hydrogen-enhanced localized plasticity implicated in hydrogen embrittlement. We quantitatively verify the hydrogen-induced lattice cohesion weakening effect on metal surfaces exposed to low-energy hydrogen plasma, where massive defects are generated despite the absence of sufficient ion momentum for direct displacement damage. By unprecedentedly quantifying the cohesion-weakening effect of LDH independently from defect-trapped H, we establish a new paradigm to understand hydrogen embrittlement.