High temperature synthesis of Sn-3.5Ag-0.5Zn alloy nanoparticles by chemical reduction method

The synthesis of Sn-3.5Ag-0.5Zn alloy nanoparticles was carried out respectively at 50 and 70 °C by using chemical reduction method to examine the temperature effect. The stirring times were 3, 12 and 24 h for each temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to investigate the microstructures of the nanoparticle alloys. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the compound of Ag3Sn was formed in the alloying process. Other intermetallic compounds such as Ag4Sn and Ag5Zn8 were also obtained in the XRD patterns. Results on TEM revealed that the isolated particles were spherical in shape and the particle size varied from 10 to 20 nm, showing the crystalline nature of the alloy. The nanoparticles obtained were evenly dispersed and less aggregated for the stirring time of 12 h and temperature of 50 °C. On the other hand, the nanoparticles obtained at 70 °C under the stirring time of 3 h were amorphous in nature and agglomerated which are reflected in the TEM micrographs.