Wetting and spreading of Pb, Pb-Cu, and Ag-Cu melts on a polycrystalline copper surface with cobalt particles

The specific feature of Cu(Co) solid solutions with a sub-solidus composition involves the formation of submicron-sized cobalt particles on the free surface. In this work, Cu(Co) substrates with cobalt particles on the surface were produced through the annealing of a series of copper-based cobalt solid solutions con-taining 1-3 at% Co in a hydrogen atmosphere at 1050 degrees C, leading to the formation of a family of cobalt-based submicron-sized particles with a similar orientation within one grain on the surface. The wetting and spreading of lead and copper-based liquid alloys on the surfaces of these substrates were compared to the wetting of pure copper and pure cobalt. Experiments were conducted via the high-speed video recording of droplet transfer onto the Cu, Co, and Cu(Co) substrates at 400 degrees C (melt: pure lead), at 850 degrees C (Pb + 10.3 at% Cu), and at 1070 degrees C (Cu + 2.5 at% Ag) in a vacuum. The contact angle of the Pb melt on cobalt (46 degrees) differed significantly from the contact angle on copper at 400 degrees C (32 degrees), while at 850 degrees C, the wetting for both metals was almost complete (the wetting angles for Cu and Co were 5 degrees and 7 degrees, respectively). The wetting angle for the Cu(Co) solid solution surface with cobalt particles was almost equal to that for pure copper, and the spreading rates were comparable for the two cases. The wetting of the Cu, Co, and Cu(Co) surfaces by the Cu (Ag) melt did not demonstrate any significant differences between the equilibrium contact angles (tending to zero), while the spreading rate differed only slightly. The surface area covered by the particles reached 20%, despite the presence of the particles, which exerted no impact on the contact angle, due to two possible effects: (i) the formation of an adsorbed copper layer on the surface of the cobalt phase confirmed by room-temperature Auger electron spectroscopy, and (ii) the compensation of wetting deterioration by an increase in roughness. (c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Cu(Co) solid solutions with a sub-solidus composition can form submicron-sized cobalt particles on the surface. In this study, Cu(Co) substrates with cobalt particles were produced through annealing. Wetting and spreading of lead and copper-based liquid alloys on these substrates were compared to pure copper and pure cobalt. The contact angles and spreading rates were similar between the Cu(Co) solid solution and pure copper. The presence of particles did not significantly affect the wetting behavior due to the formation of an adsorbed copper layer and compensation by increased roughness.