Electrodeposition as an Alternative Route to Prepare Nanostructured Lead-Free Solder Alloy: A Short Review

Abstract

With world-wide strict legislation for reduction or removal of lead from industrial waste, development of a large number of lead-free alternative solder materials had been intensively examined. The drive for lead-free solders development was towards systems that can imitate conventional lead containing solder alloys in terms of melting temperatures and improvement of mechanical properties. Nanostructured solder alloy, with a grain size of typically < 100 nm, was a new class of materials with properties distinct from and frequently distinguished to those of the conventional alloy. In comparison, nanostructured solder alloys exhibit higher strength and hardness, enhanced diffusivity, and excellent soft and hard magnetic properties. Numerous different techniques were performed to synthesize these nanostructured solder alloys. Electrodeposition method has generated huge interest in nanostructured solder preparation, mainly due to its ability to deposit solders selectively and uniformly at nanoscale. These factors bring significant influences on the behaviors of products, such as magnetization, density, ductility, wear resistance, corrosion resistance, porosity, molecular structure, and crystal properties which plays a vital part in the field of electronic manufacturing. In this paper, a short review on the electrodeposition, a useful technique to deposit different metals and alloys, as a method for nanostructured lead-free solder alloys preparation is presented.