Influence of zinc addition on anti-tarnish silver alloys in four different systems

Abstract

The presented paper investigates the influence of zinc addition on corrosion characteristics of different sterling silver alloy systems. Open circuit potential measurements, linear polarization resistance method, and potentiodynamic polarization tests were employed to determine the corrosion characteristics of the alloys. The materials were tested in an Artificial Sweat, 0.9% NaCl, and 0.01M Na2S solutions. Based on the presented results, it could be concluded that zinc has the most significant direct impact. The benefits of zinc addition are especially noticeable in aluminum-containing alloy systems, but only up to 3.7 % of Zn. The best results are achieved for alloy AgCu1.9Zn3.7Al1.6Si0.3.