Abstract
In this work, time-resolved, in situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) was used to study the solid-state transformation kinetics of the formation of the fcc Pd/Cu alloy from Pd/Cu bi-layers for the purpose of fabricating sulfur tolerant Pd/Cu membranes for H2 separation. Thin layers of Pd and Cu (total ~15 wt% Cu) were deposited on porous stainless steel (PSS) with the electroless deposition method and annealed in H2 at 500, 550 and 600ºC. The kinetics of the annealing process were successfully described by the Avrami nucleation and growth model showing that the annealing process was diffusion controlled and one – dimensional. The activation energy for the solid-state transformation was 175 kJ/mol, which was similar to the activation energy of Pd-Cu bulk interdiffusion. Furthermore, the Avrami model was able to successfully describe the changes in permeance and activation energy observed in Pd/Cu alloy membranes during characterization as they were annealed at high temperatures.
