A sessile drop experiment involving slow heating and cooling of lead-free solder alloys under inert gas revealed segregation of trace elements to the sample surface. Addition of germanium or gallium to Sn-0.7Cu-0.05Ni alloys promoted a metallic lustre in samples, in contrast with the blue/purple colour of the parent alloy. Alloys with Ge or Ga additions showed oxidation resistance. Depth profiling of surfaces of sample alloys with Ge or Ga showed a significant concentration of these elements within the oxide film, which may be responsible for oxidation resistance of these alloys.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.