Coolescence team have published a very technical paper about hydrogen in metal, not LENR, specifically how to improve PdH loading with Pb layer on the surface.

Not sure this can improve LENR, as in some ICCF19 presentation they have shown that improving loading did not automatically improve LENR excess heat. Anyway this can give ideas.

Quote from Steven C. Hamm, David L. Knies, Olga Dmitriyeva, Richard Cantwell, Matt McConnell

Optimal Surface Doping of Lead for Increased Electrochemical Insertion of Hydrogen into Palladium

Increasing the amount of hydrogen that is electrochemically inserted into materials is important for studying superconductivity and hydrogen embrittlement, and improving hydrogen storage capabilities. Surfaces can be engineered to accomplish this task with better insight into how the composition of a material's first few atomic layers affects the electrochemical insertion of hydrogen. To this end, different amounts of Pb were added to the 0.1 M LiOH electrolyte to be deposited onto Pd cathodes during galvanostatic experiments. The investigated amount of added Pb was between 1 μg cm⁻² and 23 μg cm⁻² with respect to the geometric area of the Pd cathode. The optimum surface doping level 2.9 μg cm⁻² of Pb (∼1.4 mass equivalent monolayers) was found to achieve the highest quantity of inserted hydrogen at approximately −0.5 V vs RHE. Additionally, the hydrogen content increased from PdH_0.75 to PdH_0.86 with increasing Pb amounts up to 2.9 μg cm⁻² at a constant current of −14.5 mA cm⁻². For comparison, the same change in hydrogen content from pressurized gas loading experiments would require an increase in hydrogen fugacity from about 6 to 1420 atm. Preliminary analysis concerning the adsorbed hydrogen chemical potential suggests the Pb is affecting the balance between the Volmer, Heyrovsky, and Tafel reaction rates, which changes the hydrogen surface chemical potential, and ultimately controls the hydrogen insertion. Furthermore, the addition of Pb was found to decrease the rate of hydrogen insertion. This work provides a fundamental basis for the future design of metal surfaces yielding enhanced electrochemical hydrogen insertion in Pd and other hydrogen absorbing materials.

LINK REMOVED - Copyright problem. Alan.

Sorry for the link, today it is available for 35$ from Elsevier.

What Edmund Storms have shown is that loading was required as an initial condition, but that lower loading was allowing excess heat, provided temperature was high enough.

This also explains Heat-after-death observation where the heat production is observed while the hydride is unloading for long time, and cannot be considered above the usual McKubre observed limit (0.85)...

the work of I2HMR/Nicolas Armanet, as some articles of Hagelstein, seems coherent with that, as loading and transition from PdD alpha to beta phase (and similar in NiH) is damaging (or not, if temperature is high enough, or enough Ag is alloyed with Pd) the lattice...

Ed Storms propose that electrodes that have been working, could be deloaded, kept dry, and used in a dry permeation experiment... I don't know iif he have advanced in this verification, but it could be a great idea of experiment.

Quote from Bob

Is Mr. Storms still active in physical experimentation or is he concentrating on theoryl?

He recently have done some serious but small-scale experiment with PdD, obtaining beside usual replication, some interesting results (that temperature not loading is controlling the reaction, while loading is required initially)

He have published both on these experiments, and on his theory

http://lenrexplained.com/2016/…lishes-two-storms-papers/

His theory is, as I interpret it, the "cri du coeur" of an experimentator, fed up with QM upfront theories ignoring many experimental results he knows well. (Note that he is also criticized on the same point)

His other great contribution beside experiments, is reviewing papers, experimental and theory.

His now old book : The Science of LENR is a reference.

You can even read his recent more theoretical book "the explanation of LENR" just for the quick review of experimental results and theories.

He is probably partly wrong, but I suspect much less than average, as I feel he tries to be much more focused on experimental results than on mathematical points (which makes his proposal be heavily criticized).

He propose not exact surface, which he considers as impossible because of chemistry annoyance , but nanostructure, a NAE, like cracks where hydrogen may react in a new way, not annoyed by chemistry around... He guess a linear association, which is hard to justify without strong interaction with the metallic wall of the crack or whatever it is.

He is criticized because his theory need precision in this domain, and this is exactly why I think he is right...

what prevent many people to find the theory is that they want to find instantly something that is precise and coherent mathematically, which sadly often does not match experiment.

I think a key to the new theory is to stay modest, conclude what we can conclude, that it is near surface, localized in a rare structure, allowing a collective nuclear reaction with hydrogen nuclei, which react slowly not producing MeV energy in one quantum...

saying it is metallic hydrogen is speculating a bit farther than Ed, and maybe crack is one speculation too far...

It is a nano-structure near the surface containing collectively associated hydrogen.

Evidences says no more.

NB: this is based on no new physics, and conservation of miracle euristic. if you allow new physics or coincidences of miracles, all is possible.

By the way about the initial article , I remember that some experiment showed the importance of some Pt trace deposit on the Pd cathode, that seemed to improve loading...

I remember also of some experiments with gold layer...

My memory is weak... I suspect it is in "the science of LENR"... not sure.