Metallurgical characterization of experimental Ag-based soldering alloys

Argyro Ntasi; Youssef S. Al Jabbari; Nick Silikas; Sara M. Al Taweel; Spiros Zinelis

Saudi Dental Journal (Oct 2014)

Metallurgical characterization of experimental Ag-based soldering alloys

Argyro Ntasi,
Youssef S. Al Jabbari,
Nick Silikas,
Sara M. Al Taweel,
Spiros Zinelis

Affiliations

Argyro Ntasi: Department of Biomaterials, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Youssef S. Al Jabbari: Dental Biomaterials Research and Development Chair, Saudi Arabia; Prosthetic Dental Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author. Address: Dental Biomaterials Research and Development Research Chair, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 60169, Riyadh 11545, Saudi Arabia. Tel.: +966 1 4698312; fax: +966 1 4698313.
Nick Silikas: Biomaterials Unit, School of Dentistry, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Sara M. Al Taweel: Dental Biomaterials Research and Development Chair, Saudi Arabia; Prosthetic Dental Sciences Department, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Spiros Zinelis: Department of Biomaterials, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece; Dental Biomaterials Research and Development Chair, Saudi Arabia

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 26, no. 4
pp. 139 – 144

Abstract

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Aim: To characterize microstructure, hardness and thermal properties of experimental Ag-based soldering alloys for dental applications. Materials and methods: Ag12Ga (AgGa) and Ag10Ga5Sn (AgGaSn) were fabricated by induction melting. Six samples were prepared for each alloy and microstructure, hardness and their melting range were determined by, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) microanalysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Vickers hardness testing and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results: Both alloys demonstrated a gross dendritic microstructure while according to XRD results both materials consisted predominately of a Ag-rich face centered cubic phase The hardness of AgGa (61 ± 2) was statistically lower than that of AgGaSn (84 ± 2) while the alloys tested showed similar melting range of 627–762 °C for AgGa and 631–756 °C for AgGaSn. Conclusion: The experimental alloys tested demonstrated similar microstructures and melting ranges. Ga and Sn might be used as alternative to Cu and Zn to modify the selected properties of Ag based soldering alloys. Keywords: Soldering, Ag-based alloys, Microstructure, DSC, SEM, EDX, XRD

Published in Saudi Dental Journal

ISSN: 1013-9052 (Print); 1658-3558 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Saudi Arabia
LCC subjects: Medicine: Dentistry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/saudi-dental-journal/

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