Characterization of Nb hydrides synthesized in high-pressure supercritical water by micro-beam hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Highlights: •Nb hydride specimens were synthesized in high-pressure supercritical water. •Synthesized specimens were characterized by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. •The synthesized Nb hydrides are covered with several 10 nm thick Nb oxides. •Nb hydrides are formed deep inside the specimens. -- Abstract: We have characterized Nb hydrides synthesized in high-pressure supercritical water by hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Comparison is made, in particular, of the Nb 2p core level spectra and valence band ones for the Nb hydride specimens in different stages of hydrogenation with those for Nb oxide and metallic references. The Nb 2p core level spectra of the Nb hydride specimens synthesized at relatively low temperature show an intense Nb2O5 component and a shoulder structure, which is attributed to Nb hydrides, at the high binding energy side of a metallic component of the Nb metal. The valence band spectra of the Nb hydride specimens also show a broad band at the binding energy EB between 5 and 9 eV, which is ascribed mainly to Nb oxides. The present results indicate that the surface of the synthesized Nb hydrides is covered with several 10 nm thick Nb oxides and suggest that the Nb hydrides are formed deep inside the specimens. The Nb 2p chemical shift implies the Nb valence of +1.4 for the synthesized hydride NbHx