Effect of Ni Content on the Dissolution Behavior of Hot-Dip Tin-Coated Copper Wire and the Evolution of a Cu–Sn Intermetallic Compound Layer

The traditional hot-dip tinning processes face challenges in controlling excessive copper dissolution and interfacial instability. This study involved designing a dissolution experiment using the hot-dip tin plating process. Through microscopic characterization and dissolution kinetics analysis, it systematically revealed the regulatory mechanism of trace Ni addition (0-0.5 wt.%) on the dissolution behavior and interfacial reaction of copper wire in a tin alloy melt. The experiment showed that Ni atoms formed a (Cu_1-x,Ni_x)₆Sn₅ ternary phase by replacing Cu in the Cu₆Sn₅ lattice, resulting in a transformation of the grain morphology of the IMC layer from equiaxed to fibrous. At the same time, the addition of Ni changed the kinetics of the interfacial reaction, effectively increasing the activation energy from 40.84 kJ/mol in the pure Sn system to 54.21 kJ/mol in the Sn-0.5Ni system, which extended the complete dissolution time of the copper wire at 573 K by three times.