High capacity hydrogen and hydrogen isotope getters la ur 26 25730

Richard P. Feynman Center for Innovation

Technology Snapshot
High-Capacity Hydrogen and
Hydrogen Isotope Getters
Hydrogen-scavenging materials that
protect sealed systems, electronics, and
critical infrastructure from hydrogeninduced degradation. Value Proposition
Hydrogen can quietly build up inside sealed devices
and industrial systems, shortening equipment life and
creating safety risks. Los Alamos National Laboratory
has developed a new class of high-capacity
hydrogen getters that permanently remove hydrogen
before it causes damage. Compared with
conventional getters, this technology stores more
hydrogen, operates across a wider range of
conditions, and can be manufactured in multiple
forms for easy integration into commercial products.

Technology Readiness Level 4
IP Information

Fig 1. Hydrogen uptake rate decreases as getter materials fill with hydrogen. Compared with a conventional getter (brown), the LANL highcapacity getter (green) maintains rapid hydrogen capture over a much larger storage capacity, extending the service life of the getter and the systems it protects.

This technology is disclosed under "High Capacity
Getters."

Contact: [email protected]

Overview Continued:

Overview

Many commercially available getters rely on
zirconium-based materials that offer limited hydrogen
storage capacity, require activation before use, or
operate effectively only within a narrow temperature
range. Some also depend on costly vacuumdeposition manufacturing processes that limit design flexibility.

Even small amounts of hydrogen can damage
sensitive equipment over time. As hydrogen
accumulates inside sealed environments, it can
corrode metals, weaken structural materials, degrade
electronic components, and, in some applications,
create explosion hazards. Preventing that buildup is
essential for maintaining the reliability and safety of many high-value systems.
Hydrogen getters are materials built into sealed
devices and systems to remove hydrogen before it
can accumulate. Like a moisture absorber, they
remove an unwanted gas. Instead of trapping water,
however, they chemically react with hydrogen and
lock it away permanently. Depending on the
application, a getter may take the form of a pellet,
coating, thin film, powder, or printable material.

Los Alamos researchers have developed a new class
of hydrogen getters designed to overcome these
limitations. The materials capture hydrogen and its