Influence of cobalt content on microstructure and corrosion performance of extruded Sn-9Zn solder alloys

Abstract

The Pb-free solders have attracted a great deal of attention recently due to the environmental concerns. The present work focuses on the effect of cobalt content (0, 0.5 and 3.0) on the microstructural characteristics, melting point and corrosion performance of extruded Sn-9Zn solder alloys. The results reveal that the Zn-rich precipitates with spherical or needle-like shape in the Sn-9Zn-xCo alloys are refined remarkably by forming the γ-Co₅Zn₂₁ and Co₂Sn₂Zn Co-contained intermetallic compounds, though the melting point and eutectic reaction temperature decrease slightly. It is suggested that the corrosion property of the extruded Sn-9Zn-xCo alloys is improved significantly by adding the cobalt element, while the content should be controlled reasonably. Combining the corrosion morphology, the influence of cobalt content on the corrosion behavior of the Sn-9Zn-xCo alloys is analyzed in terms of the refined microstructure and the enhanced passive film stability.

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