Research Progress and Prospect of Hydrogen Permeation-resistance Coatings

ZHANG Kaipeng; LI Chongchong; FANG Min; FANG Li; WANG Qian; CHANG Yue

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.12.001

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Surface Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (12) : 1-16. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.12.001

Research Review

Research Progress and Prospect of Hydrogen Permeation-resistance Coatings

ZHANG Kaipeng¹, LI Chongchong^1,2,3,*, FANG Min^2,*, FANG Li³, WANG Qian¹, CHANG Yue¹

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Abstract

As a clean and renewable energy source, hydrogen energy is hailed as the ultimate energy with the greatest development potential in the 21st century due to its characteristics such as high calorific value and wide sources. International hydrogen energy has entered a stage of rapid industrialization with the background of carbon peak, carbon neutrality and relevant policy support. However, the problem of hydrogen embrittlement caused by the hydrogen permeation and diffusion in materials has always been a key factor restricting its safe application. Hydrogen permeation barrier coatings have received extensive attention as an effective method to control hydrogen embrittlement.
The latest research progress of hydrogen permeation barrier coatings is reviewed, covering multiple aspects such as hydrogen diffusion models and their hydrogen barrier mechanisms, evaluation methods for hydrogen permeation resistance, preparation processes of hydrogen barrier coatings, and new hydrogen barrier coating materials.
Hydrogen permeation barrier models and their hydrogen barrier mechanisms are elaborated in detail, such as physical barrier, hydrogen traps, and potential barrier for hydrogen resistance. The hydrogen permeation-resistance effects of different hydrogen permeation-resistance mechanisms differ. Selecting appropriate materials based on the hydrogen barrier mechanism has a significant influence on the hydrogen permeation resistance of the prepared coatings.
The evaluation and testing methods for coating hydrogen permeation resistance are systematically summarized and concluded, including electrochemical monitoring of electrolytic hydrogen permeation, electrochemical monitoring of gaseous hydrogen permeation, gas-phase hydrogen permeation, in-situ hydrogen charging-tensile loading, slow strain rate tensile, etc. Selecting an appropriate hydrogen permeation test method according to the actual service environment is conducive to the intuitive characterization of the hydrogen permeation resistance of hydrogen barrier coatings.
The commonly used preparation processes of hydrogen barrier coatings in current research is deeply discussed, such as physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), hot-dip plating and electroless plating. PVD can fabricate coatings with good density and hydrogen permeation resistance. However, the size of the coatings is restricted by the equipment, making it impossible to prepare hydrogen permeation-resistant coatings over large areas on the surfaces of complex workpieces. CVD enables the large-area coating preparation on the surfaces of complex workpieces. Nevertheless, the residual carbon resulting from CVD affects the coating's compactness, which is unfavorable for the preparation of dense hydrogen permeation-resistant coatings. Selecting appropriate processes to prepare dense hydrogen-permeation- resistant coatings has a significant impact on the hydrogen permeation resistance of the coatings.
New hydrogen permeation barrier coating materials are simultaneously summarized and analyzed, including hydrogen resistance of amorphous materials, hydrogen resistance of two-dimensional materials, and hydrogen resistance of metal oxides and nitrides, etc. Among them, metal oxides, nitrides, and amorphous materials play an increasingly important role in the field of hydrogen permeation resistance due to their universality.
Finally, the deficiencies in the research on hydrogen permeation barrier coatings and the future development directions are anticipated, aiming to provide references and guidance for researchers on hydrogen permeation barrier coatings and help the hydrogen energy industry develop in a safer and more efficient manner.

Key words

hydrogen energy / hydrogen barrier coatings / hydrogen permeation / hydrogen embrittlement / hydrogen barrier mechanism

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ZHANG Kaipeng, LI Chongchong, FANG Min, FANG Li, WANG Qian, CHANG Yue. Research Progress and Prospect of Hydrogen Permeation-resistance Coatings[J]. Surface Technology. 2025, 54(12): 1-16 https://doi.org/10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.12.001

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Funding

Scientific Research Projects in Higher Education Institutions of Hebei Province (QN2022039); University-level Postgraduate Innovation Funding Project of North China Institute of Aerospace Engineering (YKY-2024-60)