This study investigates a pathway to nanoporous structures created by hydrogen and helium implantation in aluminum. Previous experiments for fusion applications have indicated that hydrogen and helium ion implantations are capable of producing bicontinuous nanoporous structures in a variety of metals. This study focuses specifically on implantations of hydrogen and helium ions at 25 keV in aluminum. The hydrogen and helium systems result in remarkably different nanostructures of aluminum at the surface. Scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam, and transmission electron microscopy show that both implantations result in porosity that persists approximately 200 nm deep. However, hydrogen implantations tend to produce larger and more irregular voids that preferentially reside at defects. Implantations of helium at a fluence of 10{sup 18} cm{sup -2} produce much smaller porosity on the order of 10 nm that is regular and creates a bicontinuous structure in the porous region. The primary difference driving the formation of the contrasting structures is likely the relatively high mobility of hydrogen and the ability of hydrogen to form alanes that are capable of desorbing and etching Al (111) faces.
This study investigates a pathway to nanoporous structures created by hydrogen implantation in aluminum. Previous experiments for fusion applications have indicated that hydrogen and helium ion implantations are capable of producing bicontinuous nanoporous structures in a variety of metals. This study focuses specifically on hydrogen and helium implantations of aluminum, including complementary experimental results and computational modeling of this system. Experimental results show the evolution of the surface morphology as the hydrogen ion fluence increases from 10{sup 17} cm{sup -2} to 10{sup 18} cm{sup -2}. Implantations of helium at a fluence of 10{sup 18} cm{sup -2} produce porosity on the order of 10 nm. Computational modeling demonstrates the formation of alanes, their desorption, and the resulting etching of aluminum surfaces that likely drives the nanostructures that form in the presence of hydrogen.