Detecting and locating absorbed hydrogen in aluminium alloys is necessary for evaluating the contribution of hydrogen embrittlement to the degradation of the mechanical properties for corroded or cathodically hydrogen-charged samples. The capability of Kelvin probe force microscopy (KFM) to overcome this issue was demonstrated. Aluminium alloy samples were hydrogenated by cathodic polarisation in molten salts (KHSO4/NaHSO4.H2O). The presence of absorbed hydrogen was revealed; the affected zone depth was measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analyses and KFM measurements
