On Nature Communications: Unusual hydrogen implanted gold with lattice contraction at increased hydrogen content

On March 10, 2021, Prof. Hoang Nam Nhat and his collaborators, Nguyen Khac Thuan, Vuong Van Hiep, Nguyen The Nghia, Nguyen Trọng Tinh, Tomoyuki Yamamoto, published a new research result on Nature Communications, about Unusual hydrogen implanted gold with lattice contraction at increased hydrogen content.

The research led by Prof. Hoang Nam Nhat started in early 2107 presents the experimental evidence for the contraction of volume of gold implanted with hydrogen at low doses. The contraction of lattice upon the addition of other elements is very rare and extraordinary in the solid-state, not only for gold but also for many other solids. To explain the underlying physics, the pure kinetic theory of absorption is not adequate and the detailed interaction of hydrogen in the lattice needs to be clarified. The analysis given in this article points to the importance of the formation of hydride bonds in a dynamic manner and explains why these bonds become weak at higher doses, leading to the inverse process of volume expansion frequently seen in metallic hydrogen containers.

The authors contributions to this research are as follows. Prof. Hoang Nam Nhat conceived the ideas, designed the experiments, analyzed data, and wrote the whole manuscript. He also did all necessary computation works. Dr. Nguyen Khac Thuan and MSc. Vuong Van Hiep performed the preparation of materials, X-ray, Raman, UV-Vis and Hall measurements. Dr. Nguyen The Nghia performed the ion beam irradiation experiments and Dr. Nguyen Trong Tinh performed the surface characterization by SEM and atomic microscope. Prof. Tomoyuki Yamamoto performed X-ray, Raman and other optical characterizations and analysis, and contributed to writing and finalizing of the manuscript.

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