Observation of Chemical State for Interstitial Solid Solution of Carbon in Low-carbon Steel by Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Abstract

Observation of chemical state of solid-solution carbon in a low-carbon steel was tried by C-K near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure spectra measurement. In addition, the wavelength dependence of the photoelectron spectrum on the surface of the bulk steel was evaluated, and the contamination and oxidation layer of 3 nm in thickness on the surface of the steel was found. As a result, it was possible to observe the chemical state change of carbon existing in the bulk iron located deeper than the oxidation and contamination layer, by evaluating the difference spectra between the sample and the reference. Furthermore, by evaluating the shape change of the difference spectra depending on the heat treatment time, this study suggested that the chemical state of carbon in bulk iron changes with heat treatment.