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Characterisation of Carbide Particles in S-65 Beryllium by Scanning Kelvin
Probe Force Microscopy
Christopher F. Mallinson*a, Ann Harveyb, John F. Wattsa
The Surface Analysis Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of
Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK,
b
Life Prediction Team, Metallurgy Group, Science Function, AWE, Aldermaston, Reading, RG7 4PR
*[email protected]
Abstract
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Scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy has been employed to examine the behaviour of second
phase carbide particles in beryllium at different relative humidity levels and after exposure to
deionised water. Carbides are believed to have a role in the localised corrosion of beryllium as a
result of their hydrolysis when exposed at the metal surface. The presence of beryllium carbide was
confirmed by means of Auger electron spectroscopy and the particles were further characterised by
scanning electron microscopy, energy/wavelength dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and scanning Kelvin
probe force microscopy. The particles were found to have a more noble Volta potential than the
beryllium matrix and a decrease in the Volta potential difference between the second phase
particles and the matrix was observed as the humidity was increased. A thick beryllium
oxide/hydroxide layer then formed on the particles following exposure to water significantly
reducing their potential.
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Introduction
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Beryllium, like aluminium, is passivated by a native oxide layer ~3 nm thick [1], resulting in a
susceptibility to localised corrosion in the form of pitting [2–4]. The initiation of pitting corrosion is
believed to be associated with second phase particles of mixed size and composition [2].
Intermetallic particles are the most commonly reported phases to play a role in the localised
corrosion of the metal [2,5]. Corrosion investigations giving attention to beryllium carbide particles
are less common in the literature than those relating to other second phase particles [6]. This is
likely a consequence of the improved manufacturing methods used for the current commercial
grades of beryllium that results in a metal containing far fewer carbides [7].
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One of the earliest studies on second phase particles in beryllium was based upon observations at
Oak Ridge National Lab in 1947 [8]. Corrosion occurred on several pieces of beryllium which were
exposed to the local atmosphere for approximately 6 months. During this time, deposits of white
corrosion products formed which were examined by X-ray diffraction and found to be a mixture of
hydrated beryllium oxide (BeO.xH2O) and/or beryllium hydroxide (Be(OH)2). These were caused by
the hydrolysis of exposed beryllium carbide inclusions at the machined metal surface [8]. This type
of corrosion has also been duplicated with carbide seeded beryllium [2].
Any beryllium carbide particles exposed at the metal surface are susceptible to hydrolysis. With the
carbides reacting with moisture in the environment to form beryllium oxide/hydroxide as well as
methane gas as indicated in Equations 1 and 2 [2].
Be2C + 2H2O → 2BeO + CH4
(1)
Be2C + 4H2O → 2Be(OH)2 + CH4 (2)
The hydrated beryllium oxides occupy a volume approximately four times greater than that of the
carbide resulting in the formation of large blisters on the beryllium surface around the carbide. This
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can cause precision components to be scrapped because of the disruption to their finely prepared
surface [2]. One particularly interesting study examined the effect of an unusually large carbide
particle present in a precision beryllium part [9]. The pocket of material containing the particle was
ruptured during machining exposing part of the carbide at the surface. During storage the carbide
reacted in accordance with Equations 1 and 2 leading to volume expansion and fracture of the
matrix around the particle. This led to a large section of beryllium breaking away from the part
resulting it being scrapped.
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The presence of hydrocarbon contamination on the surface of a specimen has been found to be
highly detrimental to SKPFM studies that involve the prior investigation of areas of interest by
electron beam based techniques [12,13]. The contamination becomes pyrolised under the action of
the beam resulting in a “black box” covering the area of interest. This carbon has a significant
cathodic potential that prevents accurate determination of the true Volta potential [13]. As a
consequence of this effect small carbide particles were initially “forfeited” for in-depth electron and
x-ray analysis to confirm that the particles in this manuscript were carbidic in nature. This enabled
the surface of the two largest carbide particles that were identified to remain free of contamination
for the SKPFM analysis [14].
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In this paper we investigate the behaviour and nobility of beryllium carbide particles with increasing
humidity and following exposure to deionised water by means of SKPFM for S-65 beryllium.
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Experimental
While the chances of a significantly large carbide particle occurring in material produced today are
exceedingly low, beryllium carbide particles are still thought to be present in almost all available
beryllium [7]. This is because carbon is present at concentrations of 700-1500 ppm in all commercial
grades of beryllium, as shown by the values in Table 1 [10]. The resulting beryllium carbide has been
observed to be evenly distributed as fine particles (0.25-4 µm) or as fewer coarse particles (5-10 µm)
[6]. In this work the carbide particles were identified using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy
(EDX) to analyse the particles composition. The particles contained significant amounts of carbon
and low levels of other metals. Little or no beryllium was detected as a result of the poor sensitivity
of EDX for Be Kα x-rays. The particles were identified as a mix of Be2C and mixed metal carbides [6].
Scanning electron microscopy performed before and after electrochemical polarisation of beryllium
containing these carbides revealed that some corrosion pits initiated at the particles with the
apparent corrosion of the particles. However, it was noted that pit initiation appeared to be more
common at grain boundaries than carbide particles.
Recently scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM) has been used to investigate the Volta
potential difference between various second phase particles and the matrix for S-65 beryllium [11].
However, because of their rarity, no carbide particles were included within this investigation as they
could not be located in the test specimens. The results from the investigation showed that all of the
second phase particles types present in the metal were nobler than the matrix. Additionally, it was
shown that a number of factors affected the Volta potential of the particles which resulted in scatter
of the potential values for a particular particle type. The standard deviation in the Volta potential for
all particle types was found to be ~50 mV in this study [11]. These factors included: compositional
variations, oxide layer thickness and the presence of a beryllium over-layer. It is unknown as to
whether the carbide particles present in beryllium act as cathodes in a galvanic couple with the
matrix as has been observed for other second phase particle compositions or if they only corrode by
the hydrolysis mechanisms of Equations 1 and 2.
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The sample used in this work was a cross sectioned 10 mm disc of S-65 beryllium bar, mounted in
conductive Bakelite. The sample surface was prepared for analysis by grinding and polishing using
diamond impregnated discs with a final 1 μm diamond paste. The typical chemical composition of
the S-65 beryllium bar sample used in this work is given in Table 1 together with the compositions of
other grades of beryllium.
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All SKPFM analysis was performed in air. The humidity within the atomic force microscope (AFM)
chamber was controlled by using a bubbler filled with deionised water and adjusting the flow rate of
air through the water to between 2 and 10 l/min to achieve 55 and 75% relative humidity. To obtain
the lowest humidity of 10% dry compressed air was directly fed into the AFM chamber at a rate of
10 l/min. To obtain 35% RH the AFM chamber door was opened to the ambient laboratory
environment. The humidity levels were all kept to within 3% of the desired value using these
methods. All measurements were acquired at 20 ±1°C and prior to analysis the sample was left to
equilibrate in the chamber for 1 hour at each humidity level.
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The morphology and the composition of the carbide particles was studied using a JEOL JSM-7100F
scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a Thermo Scientific Ultradry energy dispersive xray detector (EDX). Micrographs and EDX spectra were acquired using a primary beam energy of 15
keV and a specimen current of 5 nA. For the initial surface imaging to identify the regions of the
surface containing particles, a short image acquisition time and a large field of view (FOV) was used
to minimise the charge density at the sample surface [13].
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Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) of the particles was performed using a Thermo Scientific
MICROLAB 350 scanning Auger microscope. A primary beam energy of 10 keV and a beam current of
5 nA was used for the acquisition of point Auger spectra. AES survey and high resolution spectra
were recorded with a retard ratio of 4.
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The Volta potential maps of the sample surface were acquired with a Bruker Dimension Edge AFM
using silicon tips coated with a conductive platinum-iridium layer. These were SCM-PIT-V2 tips
purchased from Bruker. A scan rate of 0.2 Hz was used for the acquisition of all maps and a tipsample distance of 100 nm was used during the Volta potential scans. The maps displayed in this
paper were acquired using 512 lines. The Volta potential difference between the carbide particles
and the matrix was measured by extracting values from a cross section analysis on the Volta
potential maps.
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All of the raw data showed the particles to have a lower Volta potential than the matrix which is in
agreement with previous authors for more noble materials [15]. However, SKPFM potential data is
often inverted to obtain the same polarity as the electrochemical potentials. As such here all the
Volta potential maps and potential values are presented in their inverted form, in line with other
authors [14,16–18].
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Results and Discussion
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Following an initial imaging of the surface using a low beam current and large imaging FOV a number
of possible carbide particles were identified in a region of the sample surface. These ranged in size
from 2 - 80 μm in diameter. The smaller FOV micrographs shown in this paper were acquired after
SKPFM analysis. Fig. 1 (a) and (b) show secondary electron (SE) and backscattered electron (BSE)
micrographs from one of these carbide particles. BSE imaging was used to highlight the
compositional variations within the bulk of the particle. EDX analysis was performed on this region
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to identify the carbide particle and the discrete particle in the bottom left of the images. The
elemental maps are shown in Fig. 2. In both the micrographs the contrast between the beryllium
matrix and the carbide particle is quite low, while the 5 µm silicon particle (as determined by EDX
mapping and point spectroscopy) in the bottom left of the micrograph is noticeably brighter. This is a
result of the low atomic mass difference between the beryllium matrix and the carbide particle.
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The micrographs highlight the difficulty that can be faced when attempting to locate these particles
within the matrix compared to other higher mass second phase particles. Previously reported results
of an automated SEM/EDX analysis routine designed to characterise and count the secondary phase
particle distribution in beryllium have not revealed beryllium carbide particles to be present [13,19].
The reason for this is now clear. While the carbides are an uncommon particle type, the contrast
image thresholding required to perform the automated analysis will blur the low contrast carbides
into the background of the image preventing them from being accurately identified and counted.
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As observed in the micrographs in Fig. 2 the carbide particles contain regions of isolated higher mass
material which are responsible for the spots of brighter contrast in the images. The presence of
these large (0.5 - 1 μm) and small (<0.1 μm) inclusions within the bulk of the carbide particles explain
the results from point EDX analysis results in the literature which appear to show the particles as
mixed carbides [6]. The analysis volume of EDX within the particle is sufficiently large (>> 1µm3) so as
to envelope a number of these higher mass particles including them within the resulting spectrum
making the carbide particle appear to contain these impurity elements. To ensure that the small iron
and aluminium containing particles were not ternary iron-aluminium carbides, low current high
resolution AES was performed on a number of the particles [20]. This revealed them to be AlFeBe4
precipitates and did not appear to contain carbon.
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The EDX spectrum from the centre of the carbide from Fig. 1, is shown in Fig. 3 and the analysis
position is shown by the white circle in the SEM micrograph in Fig. 2. The spectrum reveals how
difficult positive confirmation of the particle can be using x-ray analysis. The Be Kα x-rays are readily
absorbed and attenuated within the sample and so the Be Kα peak is not observed in the particle
spectrum. The spectrum does show intense C Kα and O Kα peaks with moderately intense Al Kα and
Si Kα peaks. The presence of the intense oxygen peak as well as the weaker aluminium and silicon
peaks and absence of the beryllium peak add to the difficulty in confirming the particle to be a
carbide. The correct conclusions from the EDX spectrum are taken as a beryllium carbide particle
covered with an oxide/hydroxide layer which contains small oxide particles, silicon particles and
AlFeBe4 precipitates which are dispersed throughout the bulk. In comparison to the literature which
suggests that these particles are mixed metal carbides [6].
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EDX mapping reveals the constituent elements of the larger particles. The EDX maps acquired from
the carbide particle shown in Fig. 1 are shown in Fig. 2. The maps highlight the outline of the particle
in the carbon x-ray map, revealing that the particle is not a compact mass but is irregular and
contains voids. The beryllium map shows the extent of the attenuation of the particularly low kinetic
energy Be Kα x-rays as no counts are observed from the centre of the particle while the matrix
shows moderate intensity. The oxygen map tracks the carbide particle outline which is likely as a
result of the oxide layer on the particle. The grain boundaries in the same region are also highlighted
because of the oxide particles present at them. There are also discrete points of high intensity. These
may be caused by oxide particles within the carbide bulk or by oxygen associated with the other
small second phase particles within the carbide. The aluminium and iron maps match closely with
overlapping points of intensity at the locations of small AlFeBe4 precipitates within the bulk carbide.
A weak aluminium and iron signal is observed in both of these maps from the majority of the carbide
region. This is likely caused by the <100 nm particles that are well dispersed within the particle but
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too small to pinpoint by EDX, contributing to the blurring of the element x-ray maps. The silicon map
also shows discrete points of intensity at the positions of small particles within the carbide.
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The detection and confirmation of beryllium carbide particles is particularly challenging in x-ray
analysis as a result of the difficulty in quantification of the light elements, because of their poor X-ray
emission cross-sections. To ensure that the particles in this study were carbide particles AES was
used. AES is particularly suited to the identification of carbides as the C KLL Auger transition reveals
chemical state information, with the peak from a carbide showing a different shape compared to the
peak from organic carbon or hydrocarbon contamination. Fig. 4 shows the C KLL Auger transitions
from carbon contamination, a beryllium carbide reference spectrum from the literature [21], the
spectrum acquired from the surface of a suspected carbide particle is shown in Fig. 5a and a
spectrum from a confirmed carbide particle which is shown in Fig. 1 The spectrum from hydrocarbon
contamination shows a broad single peak while the spectrum from the reference carbide shows a
narrower primary peak with two additional smaller peaks at a lower kinetic energy, as noted by the
small black arrows in the figure. The presence of these three peaks is characteristic for carbides in
AES [22]. The spectrum from the particle is a close match to the carbide reference spectrum with a
narrow primary intense peak and two weaker satellite peaks. The two satellite peaks in the spectrum
from the confirmed carbide particle have a slightly larger energy spacing compared to those in the
reference spectrum. This is likely a result of the oxide present on the carbide particle which affects
the valence band density of states from which the electrons involved in the formation of these peaks
originate [19].
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Unambiguous identification of the carbide particles in this work was made using the combination of
SEM/EDX/WDX and AES. Reliance upon SEM and EDX results for the identification of beryllium
carbides can produce inaccurate results. This is believed to be the case for the coarse carbides
previously discussed in the literature [6], which do not appear to consist of beryllium carbide. A
number of example carbides were identified at AWE using the same method as previously outlined
for a billet sample of S-65 beryllium [6]. SEM micrographs from four such coarse particles identified
in this manner are shown in Fig. 5. These particles were subsequently investigated using a
combination of SEM/EDX/WDX and AES at the University of Surrey. In each case they were later
confirmed not be carbidic in nature. Instead each one was found to contain carbon, in an organic
form as revealed by the C KLL spectrum “possible carbide Fig. 5a”, shown in Fig. 4, as well as
beryllium oxide and other inorganic contaminates. They are believed to be artefacts of the mounting
and polishing procedure.
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The EDX maps of carbon, oxygen and beryllium for the particle shown in Fig. 5a, are shown in Fig. 6
and appear different to the EDX maps acquired from the confirmed carbide particle, in Fig. 1. Areas
of the particle are rich in carbon while others are rich in oxygen compared to the more uniform
intensity of carbon and isolated patches of oxygen intensity observed for the confirmed carbide. This
is observed for a number of the particles that are initially identified as possible carbides. The EDX
and WDX spectra from the carbon rich region of the particle are shown in Fig. 7. The EDX spectrum
shows an intense C Kα peak and a weak O Kα peak. The overlaid WDX spectrum also shows an
intense C Kα peak. The Be Kα peak region was also acquired using WDX, however the intensity of the
peak was so low that it has been shown as an inset in the figure. Despite the high sensitivity for
beryllium in WDX few Be Kα counts were acquired from this region showing that little beryllium is
present in the carbon rich region of the particle. To further investigate the nature of the carbon in
the particle AES was performed and high resolution carbon Auger spectrum acquired from particle is
shown in Fig. 4 and is labelled as “possible carbide Fig. 5a”. In contrast to the carbide reference
spectrum, from the literature, and the spectrum acquired from the confirmed carbide (Fig. 1) the
spectrum from the carbon rich region of the particle appears the same as that acquired from
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hydrocarbon contamination. This combined with the WDX data reveals that the carbon rich region of
particle shown in Fig. 5a is not carbidic but consists of organic carbon.
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The series of potential maps acquired from an 80 µm carbide particle, which was the largest
identified by SEM during this investigation, are shown in Fig. 8 a - d. The four maps show a reduction
in the contrast between the particle and the surrounding matrix as the humidity increases from 10%
to 75%. This is a result of the decreasing Volta potential difference between the particle and the
matrix. The position at which the Volta potential was measured is shown in (a) by the white arrows.
The Volta potential was extracted using a cross section analysis tool on the map. For each
subsequent map the position of the cross section was maintained. The cross section analysis showed
that there is a gradual reduction in the Volta potential difference between the matrix and the
particle as the humidity increases. The Volta potential difference changes from 403 mV, 359 mV, 310
mV and 291 mV as the humidity is increased from 10, 35, 55 and 75 % RH respectively. The Volta
potential values from the carbide particles investigated in this work are summarised in Table 2. The
regions of particularly intense signal on the right and left hand sides of the particle are holes. The
holes appear as intense regions of cathodic activity which has previously been noted in the literature
[23]. The topography maps acquired from the carbide particles revealed that all of the particles were
slightly recessed by 5-10 nm from the surrounding matrix, indicating that they are preferentially
polished during sample preparation.
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The Volta potential maps acquired from a 30 µm carbide particle, the second largest carbide
identified on the sample during this investigation, are shown in Fig. 9 a - d. They show the same
trend as the 80 µm carbide particle in Fig. 8, with a reduced Volta potential difference between the
particle and the matrix as the humidity is increased. With the Volta potential difference changing
from 322 mV, 295 mV, 246 mV and 155 mV as the humidity is increased from 10, 35, 55 and 75 % RH
respectively. Areas of increased Volta potential compared to the bulk of the particles are observed at
a number of points in the maps from each the carbides. These <1 µm points are caused by silicon
particles and AlFeBe4 precipitates within the bulk of the carbide.
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The values in Table 2 highlight the change in Volta potential of the carbide particles as a function of
increasing humidity. The shift of >110 mV for each of the particles is greater than the scatter in
potential ~50 mV from a given particle composition as well as the reproducibility, <30 mV, of Volta
potential measurements previously performed on beryllium [11]. These humidity results suggest the
particle becomes less cathodically active as the humidity increases. This may be a result of the
changing nature of the oxide layer covering the particle as the humidity is increased. This behaviour
has previously been observed on clean iron. Kelvin probe analysis showed that the Volta potential
went to a minimum (most cathodic) when the sample was purged with dry nitrogen, upon purging
with dry oxygen the Volta potential increased to become less cathodic and further purging with
moist oxygen led to the least cathodic surface [24]. The move to less cathodic surface under dry
oxygen was believed to be a result of oxidation of the iron surface with the further shift to less
cathodic behaviour in moist oxygen caused by the formation of a hydrated oxide on the surface.
Unfortunately, as a result of the deleterious effect of hydrocarbon contamination on the SKPFM
measurements, it is not possible to assess the state of the oxide following exposure to each humidity
level on the two large carbide particles. As such AES analysis was performed on smaller carbide
particles located near to the larger carbides before and after the humidity study. These spectra are
shown in Fig. 10.
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The survey spectra from before and after exposure to the high humidity environment show the
presence of the Be KLL, C KLL and O KLL Auger transitions. The high resolution C KLL, inset Fig. 10,
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from each of the analyses reveals the triplet of peaks representing a carbide indicating that the
oxide layer is thinner than the depth of analysis, ~6 nm, for both analyses. The intensity of the
carbon Auger transition in the spectrum from before exposure to high humidity is significantly
greater than the intensity after exposure. The reverse is also true of the oxygen peak intensity, with
a significant increase in peak intensity after exposure to higher humidity. This is in keeping with what
is expected based upon Equations 1 and 2 and shows that the oxide/hydroxide layer has increased in
thickness. This is also supported by examination of the high resolution beryllium spectrum, inset Fig.
10, which shows a significant reduction in the intensity of the carbide peak component ~100 eV on
the shoulder of the oxide peak component ~95 eV [25].
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The reducing potential of the carbide particles as the humidity increases suggests that the activity of
the particles reduces with the increase in the oxide layer thickness, in agreement with results from
previous SKPFM analysis [11]. By comparing previous SKPFM analysis of second phase particles in S65 beryllium billet and bar samples to the results obtained in this work it becomes apparent that the
carbide particles have the highest Volta potential of all the second phase particle types except for
alumina type particles in bar grade beryllium [11]. This is particularly important as the bar grade
matrix has a more cathodic Volta potential, by ~100 mV, than billet grade matrix. This is likely to
result in the increased activity of cathodic particles in billet beryllium. A conclusion which is
supported by previous electrochemical results [6]. As a result of the more cathodic matrix
surrounding the carbide particles in this work it can be assumed that a similar 100 mV shift to a
more cathodic potential would be observed for carbide particles in billet beryllium. Carbides in billet
sample would then represent the highest Volta potential difference between any particle type and
the matrix indicating that despite their rarity in the matrix they may be the most severe contributors
to the pitting corrosion of beryllium.
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Following the completion of the humidity exposure the sample was lightly repolished using 1 µm
diamond solution to refresh the sample surface. SKPFM/AFM analysis was then performed prior to
immersing the sample in halide-free deionised, distilled water for time periods of 1, 2, 4, 8 and 48
hours cumulative. SKPFM was repeated following each immersion. SEM analysis was not utilised to
avoid the influence of the pyrolised carbon layer on the SKPFM results. Topographic AFM maps and
SKPFM Volta potential maps of the particle at time zero and after 1, 8 and 48 hours are shown in Fig.
11. They show that Volta potential difference between the particle and the matrix decreases with
increasing exposure time to water. The largest drop in potential is after 1 hour, this is accompanied
by a significant change in the topographic map. The potential of the particle decreased from 295 mV
to 82 mV during this exposure.
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The particle which was slightly recessed from the surface grows a substantial oxide/hydroxide layer
and becomes proud of the surface by ~100 nm. At each point where the carbide was exposed at the
surface the oxide grows. The layer thickness reached a plateau of after 2 hours at 150 nm thick.
Despite the significant exposure time no evidence for galvanic activity was observed. Additionally, no
evidence for crevice corrosion at the interface between the particle and the matrix was observed for
the 80 µm carbide (Fig. 8) or the 30 µm carbide particle (Fig. 9). As a result of this apparent inactivity
the sample was subsequently exposed to a pH 7, 0.5 M solution of sodium chloride for a period of 4
hours. Despite the more corrosive media no further attack was observed on or around the carbide
particles.
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Conclusions
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The present work has investigated the Volta potential difference between S-65 beryllium and second
phase carbide particles present in the metal by means of SKPFM with increasing humidity. As a result
of this work it has been found that:
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1. Carbides do not appear to be mixed metal carbides but contain isolated inclusions of higher
mass elements dispersed throughout their bulk.
2. Carbide particles show a more noble potential than the beryllium matrix in agreement with
all other particle types in S-65 beryllium.
3. The carbide particles showed a decreasing Volta potential difference with the matrix as the
humidity was increased. This is believed to be a result of an increasing thickness of the
oxide/hydroxide layer present on the particles.
4. Under ambient conditions the carbide particles showed a Volta potential that was
significantly nobler than all particles types except alumina type particles in bar grade
beryllium.
5. Exposure of the carbides to halide free water resulted in a thick oxide/hydroxide layer
forming on the carbide particles and despite the cathodic Volta potential of the carbides no
evidence of galvanic coupling with the matrix was observed. An additional exposure to 0.5 M
NaCl showed no further attack.
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Acknowledgments
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The authors wish to thank AWE Aldermaston for funding this work.
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References
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393
394
Table 1. Chemical compositions of commercial grades of beryllium [10] *Other Ni, Cu, Ti, Zr, Ca, Mn, Ag, Co,
Pb, Mo, Ca, U
395
Grade
I-70H
I-220H
O-30H
S-200F
S-200FH
SR-200
S-200D
Be % min
99.0
98.0
99.0
98.5
98.5
98.0
98.0
Chemical composition (at.% max)
BeO Al
C
Fe
Mg
Si
0.7 0.07 0.07 0.10 0.07 0.07
2.2 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.08 0.08
0.5 0.07 0.07 0.12 0.12 0.07
1.5 0.10 0.15 0.13 0.13 0.08
1.5 0.10 0.15 0.13 0.08 0.08
2.0 0.16 0.15 0.18 0.08 0.08
2.0 0.16 0.15 0.13 0.18 0.08
9
Other*
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
0.04
S-65
S-65 Bar
99.2
99.2
0.9 0.05 0.09 0.08
0.69 0.03 0.09 0.06
0.01 0.045
unknown
0.045
0.04
396
397
Table 2 Volta potential values from the two carbide particles at each humidity level
Relative
humidity
10 %
35 %
55 %
75 %
80 μm carbide
30 μm carbide
Volta potential difference to matrix (mV)
403
322
359
295
310
246
291
155
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
Fig. 1 SE micrograph (a) and BSE micrograph (b) of the entire structure of a beryllium carbide particle in S-65
beryllium. A higher magnification BSE micrograph shows the presence of higher atomic mass particles within
the carbide bulk (c) and a higher magnification SEM micrograph of particularly small higher mass inclusions
in the carbide particle (d). The brighter particle in the bottom left of micrographs (a) and (b) is a silicon
second phase particle.
10
405
406
407
408
Fig. 2 SEM micrograph and elemental EDX maps from a carbide particle. Maps for carbon, beryllium, oxygen
aluminium, iron and silicon are shown. The 5 μm scale bar is for all images. The white circle in the SEM
micrograph shows the position of the EDX point spectrum acquisition of Fig. 3.
409
410
411
Fig. 3 EDX spectrum from the centre of the carbide particle, shown in Fig.1, with overlaid WDX spectra of the
Be Kα and C Kα transitions. A high resolution Be Kα spectrum is also inset.
11
412
413
414
415
Fig. 4 High resolution AES spectra of the C KLL Auger transition from hydrocarbon contamination, a
beryllium carbide reference spectrum [21] a confirmed beryllium carbide particle studied in this
work (Fig. 1) and a possible carbide particle which is shown in Fig. 5a.
416
417
418
419
Fig. 5 Examples of SEM micrographs acquired from previously identified coarse carbides in S-65
beryllium.
12
420
421
422
Fig. 6 SEM micrograph and carbon, oxygen and beryllium EDX maps of the possible coarse carbide
shown in Fig. 5a.
423
424
425
426
Fig. 7 EDX spectrum and overlaid WDX spectrum of the C Kα transition from the carbon rich region
of the possible coarse carbide shown in Fig. 5a. Inset WDX spectrum of the Be Kα transition. The
peak intensity is too weak to observe if overlaid on the EDX spectrum.
427
13
428
429
430
431
432
Fig. 8 Volta potential maps of an 80 µm carbide particle at different humidity: (a) 10%, (b) 35%, (c) 55% and
(d) 75%. All plotted with the same Z scale of 1.5 V and range 0.5 to -1.0 V. The white arrows in (a) denote the
position of the cross sectional analysis from which potentials were measured. This position was used for all
of the measurements. Volta potential data shown inverted.
433
434
435
436
437
Fig. 9 Volta potential maps of a 30 µm carbide particle at different humidity: (a) 10%, (b) 35%, (c) 55% and
(d) 75%. All plotted with the same Z scale of 1.1 V and range 400 to -700 mV. The white arrows in (a) denote
the positions of the cross sectional analysis from which potentials were measured. This position was used
for all of the measurements. Volta potential data shown inverted.
14
438
439
440
Fig. 10 AES survey spectra with high resolution Be KLL and C KLL spectra (inset) from a carbide
particle before and after the humidity study.
441
442
443
444
Fig. 11 Volta potential maps (a-d) and topographic maps (e-h) of the 80 µm carbide particle (Fig. 8)
following exposure to deionised water for time zero, 1 hour, 8 hours and 48 hours exposure.
Potential scale -500 – 300 mV, height scale -200 – 100 nm.
445
446
15