Grain Boundary Wetting Phase Transition and Analysis of the Energy Characteristics of Grain Boundaries in the Sns -(Zn/Sn) l System

Regularities of the interaction of tin grain boundaries (special Σ5 and general Σ17 〈001〉) and a Sn-Zn melt of equilibrium composition were studied. The grain boundary wetting phase transition temperature was determined; for Σ5 and Σ17, it is 216°C. More than 90% of the general grain boundaries were completely wetted by the melt over a range of temperatures, from the eutectic melting temperature to the tin melting temperature. It was shown that the anisotropy of interphase energy at the solid tin-Zn-Sn melt interface is 64 ± 10 mJ m−2 at 216°C. The energies of the Σ5 and Σ17 grain boundaries in the range of 201–216°C were obtained on the basis of the experimental dependence of the dihedral angle on temperature.