Diffusive impregnation of iron and steel with tin and antimony

Conclusions

• 1. Iron and steel may be impregnated by vaporization of tin or antimony in a vacuum. Tin impregnation turns the diffusion layer into a substitutional solid solution of tin in iron. Antimony impregnation causes the formation of a defect solid solution with a composition that approximately equals the FeSb phase.

• 2. Impregnation of iron and steel with tin or antimony gives rise to an increase in volume which is rather insignificant in impregnating with tin and considerable with antimony.

• 3. The impregnation with tin or antimony increases the corrosion resistance of steel and iron in aqueous solutions of certain acids and salts by several times.

• 4. Impregnation with tin should be conducted at 1050 to 1150° C for two hours; the optimal temperature for the impregnation with antimony lies around 550° C with a holding time of about three hours. In both cases a 1 mm Hg vacuum is sufficient.