The device will serve to develop hydrogen transport, distribution and storage

This new glow discharge optical emission spectrometer enables characterisation of the elemental composition and thickness of multilayer coatings and/or high-added-value conductive, non-conductive and hybrid materials that cannot otherwise be analysed using other techniques due to their nature and/or thickness.

The RF-GDOES (Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy) characterisation device will help build new knowledge on different types of coatings, surface treatments and cells developed at CIDETEC, in response to the significant scientific and technological challenges facing national and European industry. The benefits of using this equipment include the possibility to perform elemental composition profiles with a high degree of precision and resolution (even elements that cannot be detected with other techniques such as H, B, etc.) for a wide range of single and multilayer coatings (metal, organic, ceramic and composite), thereby generating scientific knowledge and advancing CIDETEC Surface Engineering's research.

Of all the projects carried out at CIDETEC Surface Engineering, the acquisition of a characterisation device such as the GDOES is particularly suitable for projects related to transporting, distributing and storing hydrogen as fuel, where detecting this element in the coatings/materials is crucial for development.