Origin of the hydrogen absorbed by incoherent TiC particles in iron

Hydrogen absorption of incoherent TiC particles that were once reported to be strong hydrogen traps in iron at room temperature was investigated by means of thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS). The results indicated that incoherent TiC particles in iron do not trap hydrogen at all at room temperature even they are cathodically charged for a long time. Only at high temperatures and in atmosphere containing hydrogen source, incoherent TiC particles can trap hydrogen. The origin of hydrogen trapped by incoherent TiC particles was justified to be water vapor in the atmosphere during heat treatment.