{"paper_id":"4bfaca5a-36ec-4895-a720-3689e88f2692","body_text":"Hydrogen-induced damage in Ni-based superalloys at high temperatures | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Hydrogen-induced damage in Ni-based superalloys at high temperatures Binhan Sun, Shuai Kong, Xizhen Dong, Zheng Zhong, Jie Hou, Yubo Zhao, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8168530/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The urgent need to decarbonize society and industry motivates the use of hydrogen-containing fuels in gas turbines for power generation and aviation applications. This exposes safety-critical components to hydrogen at high-temperatures, but embrittlement effects under such conditions remain unexplored. Ever since the first report almost 150 years ago, mechanistic studies of hydrogen embrittlement have primarily emphasized the physical interactions between hydrogen and microstructural defects like interfaces and dislocations: a framework successfully exploited to rationalize numerous embrittlement phenomena at ambient temperature. Here, we show that this widely accepted understanding of hydrogen embrittlement breaks down at elevated temperatures, where vacancy-driven chemical reactions between hydrogen and specific microstructural constituents lead to embrittlement at least four times as severe as under ambient conditions. In a face-centered cubic (FCC) Ni-based superalloy that is the global backbone material for high-temperature applications, our near-atomic-scale characterization and ab initio calculations reveal strong trapping of hydrogen atoms in carbon vacancies in carbides, driving their partial decomposition while simultaneously triggering localized methane formation at the carbide-matrix interface. As a result, the heterointerfaces are substantially weakened, rendering them vulnerable to deformation-induced damage. Our work provides a physical foundation for developing mechanistic models of high-temperature H embrittlement in Ni-based alloys—a previously uncharted but critical step toward ensuring the safe deployment of H-fueled turbines and other high-temperature components in similar H-rich environments. Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Metals and alloys Physical sciences/Materials science/Structural materials/Mechanical properties Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files naturematerialsubmissionextendeddata.pdf Extended data figures Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-8168530\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":553352195,\"identity\":\"51cc7ea0-4f54-45f0-8c0f-8e0a2154cc86\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Binhan 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