Thermodynamic properties and microstructural characteristics of binary Ag-Sn alloys

The liquidus and solidus temperatures and enthalpy of fusion for Ag-Sn alloys are systematically measured within the whole composition range by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The measured enthalpy of fusion is related to Sn content by polynomial functions, which exhibit one maximum value at 52 wt%Sn and two minimum values around 21 wt%Sn and 96.5 wt%Sn, respectively. The liquidus slope, the solidification temperature interval, the solute partition coefficient and the entropy of fusion are calculated on the basis of the measured results. The undercoolability of those liquid Ag-Sn alloys solidifying with primary (Ag) solid solution phase is stronger than the other alloys with the preferential nucleation of ζ and intermetallic compounds. Morphological observations reveal that peritectic reactions can rarely be completed, and the peritectic microstructures are always composed of both primary and peritectic phases.