Study on the Correlation between Microstructure Corrosion and Wear Resistance of Ag-Cu-Ge Alloys
1
Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, National Research Council of Italy, Via dei Taurini 19, Rome 00185, Italy
2
Engineering Department, “Roma TRE” University, Via della Vasca Navale 79, Rome 00146, Italy
3
Legor Group SRL, Via San Benedetto14-34, Bressanvido, VI 36050, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Alessandro Lavacchi
Coatings 2015, 5(1), 78-94; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings5010078
Received: 23 December 2014 / Revised: 27 February 2015 / Accepted: 9 March 2015 / Published: 13 March 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Trends in Coatings and Surface Technology—Feature Papers)
Abstract
In this work, a morphological and structural characterization of a ternary Ag-Cu-Ge alloy of known composition was performed with the aim of evaluating how the passivation parameters (time and temperature) influence the morphological features of the material surface. A nanomechanical characterization was performed in order to correlate the morphology and microstructure of the alloy with its tarnish, wear, and scratch resistance. It was found that the addition of germanium to the alloy not only provides the material with tarnish and fire-stain resistance, but it also improves the scratch and wear resistance owing to the formation of a dense and stable thin oxide layer. View Full-TextKeywords:
silver alloy; germanium; SEM; TEM; passivation; thin films
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Cusma, A.; Sebastiani, M.; De Felicis, D.; Basso, A.; Bemporad, E. Study on the Correlation between Microstructure Corrosion and Wear Resistance of Ag-Cu-Ge Alloys. Coatings 2015, 5, 78-94.
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