Design of anti-tarnish sterling silver Ag-Cu-Zn alloy and investigation of silicon addition influence on mechanical and corrosion characteristics

Abstract

This paper presents investigations of the influence of silicon addition on the mechanical and corrosion characteristics of the sterling silver Ag-Cu-Zn alloys. The procedure for obtaining Ag-Cu-Zn-Si alloys in small ranges of composition was also presented Vickers hardness tests and three electrochemical tests were performed on the samples in this study. Open circuit potential measurements, linear polarization resistance method, and potentiodynamic polarization tests were employed to determine corrosion characteristics of the alloys. The materials were tested in 0.9% Nacl solution, artificial sweat, 0.1 and 0.01 M sodium sulfide solutions. It was shown that addition of silicone increases hardness and generally improves sulfidation resistance and corrosion characteristics in near-neutral chloride solutions of the Ag-Cu-Zn alloys.