Crystallization of lead-free binary tin-zinc alloys produced by the method of rapidly solidification from the melt

The results of studies of the structures of rapidly solidified foils of alloys of the Sn – Zn system with a low content of alloying elements (up to ~1,5 wt.%), alloys of near-eutectic compositions, as well as alloys with an alloying element content of 20 – 95 wt.% are presented. In rapidly solidified alloys containing 1,5 wt. % Sn and 1,2 wt. % Zn, supersaturated solid solutions are formed, which decompose according to the mechanism of formation and growth of nuclei of a new phase at room temperature. Alloys (4,4 – 15 wt.% Zn) after rapidly solidification are supercooled and supersaturated with both components, and experience spinodal decomposition followed by the formation of supersaturated solid solutions based on Sn and Zn, which decompose at room temperature. In all other alloys, a two-phase structure is formed from solid solutions based on Sn and Zn. It was found that as the crystallization front moves from the surface of the contacting foil layer with the surface of the mold, the Sn particles coarsen and the specific surface of the interface decreases. It has been established that rapidly solidified foils have a microcrystalline grain structure, with an increase in the concentration of alloying elements, a tendency to a decrease in grain size is observed.