Influence of CrFeCoNiCu high-entropy alloy and ultrasonic stirring on the thermal, electrochemical and mechanical properties of Zn-30Sn high-temperature solder alloy

Abstract

In this study, the thermal, electrochemical and mechanical properties of Zn-30Sn solder alloy with different contents of CrFeCoNiCu high-entropy alloy (HEA) (0, 0.5 and 1 wt%) were investigated. At the same time, ultrasonic stirring was introduced into the melting process. The results suggested that the addition of HEA could refine the microstructure and the Zn matrix phases accelerated to dissolve to form more precipitation phases with the increase of HEA content from 0 to 1.0 wt%. The application of ultrasound could make the distribution of the phases disperse and facilitate the formation of dense and uniform corrosion products during the corrosion process. The electrochemical corrosion test and tensile test results showed that the ultrasonically treated Zn-30Sn solder alloy containing 1.0 wt% HEA had the lowest corrosion current density (Icorr = 1.11 μA·cm−2), the highest ultimate tensile strength (101.13 MPa) and yield strength (25.55 MPa), indicating that the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties were most outstanding. Moreover, the melting temperature of the composite solder alloys was slightly decreased from 379.5 °C to 377.5 °C.