Atomic scale understanding of the role of hydrogen and oxygen segregation in the embrittlement of grain boundaries in a twinning induced plasticity steel

High strength twinning induced plasticity (TWIP) steels have potential for applications in the automotive industry. However, they are prone to hydrogen embrittlement (HE) and galvanic corrosion. Here, we report on susceptibility towards HE oxidation of a model Fe 27Mn 0.3C (wt%) TWIP steel by atom probe tomography. We measured segregation oxygen at grain boundaries, which appears correlated with manganese depletion. Our study suggests correlation between mechanisms steels, can combine favor previously reported enhanced decohesion boundaries.