A study was made of the effect of interstitial H upon irradiation-induced amorphization. Irradiation was carried out, at various temperatures, using H-free and electrochemically or gaseously charged specimens. It was found that an average H concentration of a few percent substantially altered the amorphization process. In the presence of H, the electron dose which was required to achieve amorphization of Zr3Al was significantly reduced. In the case of Zr2Ni, it was found that the upper temperature limit, below which complete amorphization occurred, was greatly increased. On the basis of the results, it was proposed that the role which was played by H was mainly to increase the stability of the defective structure rather than to increase the number of Frenkel pairs by secondary displacements.

D.K.Tappin, I.M.Robertson, H.K.Birnbaum: Physical Review B, 1995, 51[21], 14854-60