In a paper published in the 17 March edition of the journal Science, the team describes how it was able to spot hydrogen atoms in carbide precipitates. It’s a significant development because it is difficult to measure hydrogen in metals.  And that has hindered the development of new materials that resist hydrogen embrittlement.

But the team’s method, which combines advanced cryo electron microscopy techniques along with others, overcomes the problem.

“We have shown that it’s possible to localize hydrogen at atomic resolution -- at the scale of a single atom -- or at a nanometer scale by combining different technologies in a closed and protected workflow,” Roger Wepf, director for The University of Queensland Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, said in a statement.

“Our research collaboration has, for the first time, localized and visualized hydrogen in steels and alloys,” he said. “This is essential for the development of new alloys with greater endurance.”

You can find their paper, titled "Direct Observation of Individual Hydrogen Atoms at Trapping Sites in a Ferritic Steel," here. You can also read more about their work here.