Ahmad, IbrahymNazeri, Muhammad Firdaus MohdSalleh, Nor AzmiraKheawhom, SoorathepErer, Ahmet MustafaKurt, AdemMohamad, Ahmad Azmin2024-09-292024-09-2920211878-53521878-5379https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2021.103392https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14619/4424The morphological changes of SAC305 solder alloy with the addition of 0.07 wt% graphene was investigated using selective electrochemical etching. To evaluate the effect of graphene inclusion, selective electrochemical removal of the beta-Sn phase from SAC305 and SAC305/0.07GNP was performed using a standard three-electrode cell approach at specific potentials determined by cyclic voltammetry. The phase, chemical structure and microstructural changes were observed. The texture and the phases of SAC305 solder paste were retained, while the microstructure of beta-Sn and Ag3Sn was refined owning to graphene addition. Sufficient removal of beta-Sn without affecting other phases was obtained by using etching potential below -350 mV. Due to Van der Waals force attraction, two types of agglomeration of graphene were observed from cross-sectional observation. Large agglomerations seen at the vicinity of solder/substrate interface were found to help in forming diffusion barrier. This contributes to the refinement of microstructure with the presence of graphene. Accurate observation regarding the shape and texture of the intermetallic compound (IMC) phases affected by the addition of graphene provided by selective electrochemical removal helps better insight into understanding the electrochemical dissolution mechanism of SAC alloys. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessLead-free soldersSn-3.0Ag-0.5CuSelective electrochemical etchingMicrostructureGrapheneComposite solderArticle10.1016/j.arabjc.2021.1033922-s2.0-8511405336410Q114WOS:000705993200042Q2