Tin plating
A heavy metal with many advantages
What is tin?
Tin is a chemical element with the element symbol Sn (Latin: stannum). In the periodic table, it stands with the atomic number 50 in the 5th period and in the 4th main group. The silvery-white shining tin is a very soft heavy metal and can be scratched with the fingernail. Tin has a very low melting point of 231 °C for metals.
Historically, the use of pewter was in the manufacture of tableware and was thus part of middle-class households as a utilitarian and ornamental object. The modern use is in the field of electrical industry as well as in tinning of food-safe preserves or also in medicine. Tin is also used as an admixtureto copper as an alloying agent for the production of bronze.
Galvanic deposition of tin
Tin is mainly deposited from sulfuric acid electrolytes. By adding mostly organic substances, the structure of the deposited layers can be changed. Thus, it is possible to deposit shiny layers in addition to matte layers. The deposition can be done in rack technique and in barrel technique. The coatings have good adhesion to all common base materials such as copper and copper alloys as well as iron, as does deposition on aluminum via interlayer nickel using the NICAL® process developed by Rieger. Further properties of the tin coatings are good electrical conductivity, low contact resistance, good solderability, food grade, drinking water usability.
Application area
Due to the described capabilities, there are possible applications for the production of soft-solderable surfaces (e.g. on aluminum), as a solderable as well as food-safe corrosion protection coating and others.
