Influence of alloy composition on the hardening of silver-tin dental amalgam

The objective of the investigation was to examine the reactions of mercury with silver-tin alloys with compositions spanning the phase fields beta, (beta + gamma), gamma, and (gamma + Sn). The experimental methods employed include the application of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis. These techniques were used to investigate the mechanisms of reaction and to identify the nature and morphology of the reaction products formed on bulk specimens of the alloys. The progress and characteristics of the reactions that occur during hardening of amalgams prepared from powders of these alloys were monitored using a high-sensitivity dilatometer. These results were correlated with direct observations on the development of the microstructures. The reaction of mercury with the beta-phase alloy occurred rapidly and resulted in a very marked and rapid expansion during the initial stages of hardening. gamma-Phase alloys, on the other hand, reacted more slowly and contracted markedly during hardening. The behavior of amalgams made from alloys with compositions lying between these two extremes appeared to be explicable in terms of the characteristics of the separate phases from which they were constituted.