A microsectioning technique for vanadium

By a combined anodizing and stripping technique, thin sections can be removed from vanadium metal. A uniform, thin oxide film can be grown on the vanadium metal in an acetone-benzoic acid-sodium tetraborate solution during anodization, which is then removed in aqueous NH4OH (10%). The thickness, x, of the metal removed in angstrom units is given by x= 103.2 + 12.5 V, V being the voltage applied. The application of such a sectioning technique for constructing penetration profiles in diffusion studies is of special interest, since contribution from diffusion along lattice defects can be recognized and eliminated. This paper considers the details of the experimental technique by which the films are grown and stripped.