Method Of Colouring Tin And Tin-Containing Articles

espacenet: A method of colouring the surface of a tin-containing article is provided, the method comprising contacting at least a portion of the surface of the article with a solution comprising a thiosulphate, preferably under substantially neutral or acidic conditions. In one embodiment, the solution contains sodium thiosulphate and citric acid and further comprises a copper salt, together with acetone and/or glycerol. The method is preferably conducted at elevated temperatures, in particular by heating the solution to a temperature of from 45 to 85 DEG C. The method is particularly suitable for the colouring of pewter articles, but may be applied to a wide range of tin-containing materials and tin alloys.

Trish Woods, University of Plymouth patent

US2012000412 (A1) ― 2012-01-05

Wear Behavior of the Lead-Free Tin Bronze Matrix Composite Reinforced by Carbon Nanotubes

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Volume 42, Number 13 - SpringerLink

Copper-coated carbon nanotubes were prepared by the electroless plating route. The structure and component of copper/carbon tubes were characterized using a transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. The results show that the surface of the carbon tubes was covered by the copper particles. Copper/carbon tubes were used as the substitute of part of tin and all of lead in the tin bronze matrix, and the tribological properties of carbon nanotube-reinforced Cu-4 wt pct Sn-6 wt pct Zn composites were studied. The effects of the carbon nanotube volume fraction and sliding distance in unlubricated ball-on-disc wear test were investigated. The 3 vol pct carbon nanotube-reinforced Cu-4 wt pct Sn-6 wt pct Zn composite shows the Vickers hardness of 126.9, which is approximately 1.6 times higher than that of Cu-6 wt pct Sn-6 wt pct Zn-3 wt pct Pb tin bronze. The wear rate and average friction coefficients of 3 vol pct carbon nanotube-reinforced Cu-4 wt pct Sn-6 wt pct Zn composite were lower than those of the Cu-6 wt pct Sn-6 wt pct Zn-3 wt pct Pb tin bronze, respectively.