General Definition

WHISKERS- One of the long stiff tactile

bristles or hairs that grow near the
mouth and elsewhere on the head of
most mammals
METALLURGY
Metal whiskering is a crystalline metallurgical
phenomenon involving the spontaneous growth of
tiny, filiform hairs from a metallic surface.
Types of metal whiskers
Zinc Whiskers
Silver Whiskers
Gold Whiskers
Cadmium Whiskers
Aluminum Whiskers
Lead (Pb) Whiskers
Indium Whiskers
Tin whiskers
Pictures of Metal whiskers
Properties of whiskers
Shapes: Whiskers may be straight, kinked,
hooked or forked
Growth Rate: Growth rates from 0.03 to 9
mm/yr
Whisker Diameter: 10 um and rarely less than
100 nm
Temperature: room temperatures (22C to
25C) ; whiskers grow faster
Moisture: high humidity (85% RH)
Whiskers vs. Dendrites
Whiskers
Hair like shape
Grow perpendicular to
the surface (90
o
)
Doesnt require
dissolution of metal/
presence of
electromagnetic field
Dendrites
Fern shaped
Grow across the surface
Growth requires
dissolution of metals in
electromagnetic field
Mechanism of Growth
A Single accepted explanation of the
mechanism has not been established.
Theories suggest that metal whiskers may
grow in response to a mechanism of stress
relief (especially "compressive" stress) .
Video Demonstration of Tin whiskers
Growth
Commonly Accepted Factors
Residual stresses within the metal plating
Intermetallic Formation
Externally Applied Compressive Stresses
Bending or Stretching
Scratches or nicks
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion Mismatches
Recent Attention to Metal Whiskers?
To reduce the use of potentially hazardous
materials such as lead (Pb), so the alternatives
to the widely used tin-lead alloys used for
plating.
Restriction of certain Hazardous Substances
(RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (WEEE)
Failures by Whiskers
Galaxy IV satellite in 1998- Tin whiskers
F-15 Radar- Tin whiskers
Heart Pacemaker Recall- Tin whiskers
computer server rooms Zinc whiskers
Paper mills- Silver whiskers
Satmexs Solidaridad HS 601 - Zinc whisker
Nano Whiskers
The single crystalline metallic hair-like structure in
the nanometer scale
Also called as nanowires or nanorods.
Fullerene, C
60
Nano Whiskers
History
C
60
Nanowhiskers were
discovered in 2001 in Japan
by Kunichi Miyazawa during
the preparation of a lead
zirconate titanate sol gel.
Thin fibrous structures that
grow in the solution were
named C60 Nanowhiskers.
The C
60
Nanowhiskers are
prepared by the liquid-liquid
interfacial precipitation
method.
Preparation of C
60
Nanowhiskers:
Add 5ml of organic solvent to 20ml glass vial
Measure out enough C
60
to form saturated solution in organic solvent (using C60
solubility table)
Sonicate solution of solvent and C
60
until thoroughly dissolved
Layer with 5ml of polar solvent
Place in 2C refrigerator for several days until whisker formation is observed, black
dusty material on the bottom of the vial
Pipette small sample of solution and whiskers onto glass slide and allow solvent to
dry
Properties of C
60
Nano whiskers
The Nanowhiskers were found to be
C60 fullerene molecules arranged
into a hollow tube by face-centered
cubic packing.
Nanowhiskers measure from a
couple hundred nanometers to one
micrometer in diameter and several
millimeters in length
Various experiments have been
carried out testing different solvent
solutions and the effects of
environment on Nanowhiskers
growth.
Solvent Solutions Tested
Organic layer Polar layer
Toluene Iso propyl alcohol
Carbon disulfide Iso propyl alcohol
Cholro benzene Iso propyl alcohol
Pyridine Iso propyl alcohol
Toluene Acetone
Toluene Water
Carbon: C
60
Organic: Toluene
Polar: Water
Stored in: Solution
Magnification: 60x
Transmission Electron Microscope 8000x
Silicon Nanowhiskers
Molecular Beam Epitaxy
Silicon wafers were used as substrates
Desorption of the oxide layer by a thermal
annealing at 850 C.
Afterward, a thin Au film was deposited at a
substrate temperature of 525 C with
thicknesses between 1.5 nm and 2 nm.
The size of the thereby generated droplets
could be chosen between 70 and 200 nm.
SEM cross section images of Silicon whiskers grown on a Silicon substrate for a) 60
min b) 120 min growth time at T
S
525 C.
TEM cross section image of a Silicon whisker with a length of about 300
nm and a diameter of 95 nm on a Silicon substrate.
Crossed Nanowhiskers
Bi-2212 superconducting single crystal Nano
whiskers have been fabricated by annealing a
melt quenched glass Bi
3
Sr
2
Ca
2
Cu
3
O
x
precursor.
A couple of Nano Whiskers obtained were
placed crosswise on a YSZ single crystal
substrate and then heat treated at 830
o
C for
25 minute to form Nano-scale junction
Glass-ceramic method were used for preparation of
the whiskers
Bi
2
O
3
; SrCO
3
; CaCO
3
and CuO were mixed to give a
composition of Bi
3
Sr
2
Ca
3
Cu
3
O
10+x
.
The mixture was melted in an alumina crucible at
1100
0
C for 2 h.
The melt was then rapidly quenched between two
cold copper plates
After the heat treatment cycle, whiskers were grown
on the surface of the glass sheets
Then a couple of whiskers were placed crosswise on
a Yittria stabilized Zirconia, (YSZ:(ZrO
2
)1-m(Y
2
O
3
)m))
substrate and heat treated at 830
0
C for 25 min. to
form Nano-scale junction.
Cellulose Nanowhiskers
Properties Cellulose Nanowhiskers
Physical structure Needle- whiskers
Chemical structure cellulose
Interactions Hydrogen bond
Tensile modulus ~130 GPa
Tensile strength 10 GPa
Electrical resistivity 10
10
- 10
16
ohms cm
Thermal conductivity Insulator
Density 1.2 g/cm
3
Coef. Thermal expan 8 -16X 10
-6
Preparation of Cellulose
Nanowhiskers
Cellulose Nanowhiskers
regenerated from aqueous
sodium hydroxide urea
solvent system on the basis
of their temperature-
dependent solubility.
AFM topography image of
cellulose Nanowhiskers
after drying on a mica
surface
Nanowhiskers in use
Water Repellant
In Nature, many small
tubes or whiskers keep
water and solid at
minimal contact for
super hydrophobia
(extreme water
repellency)
water droplet
Stain Resistance
Billions of Nanowhiskers(10 nm long) create a thin cushion of air above
the cotton fabric, smoothing out wrinkles and allowing liquids to bead up
and roll off without a trace.
Water droplets form spherical globules
Rough nanoscale surface picks up dirt
Water and dirt roll off
Biomimicry
Bioceramics
The calcium phosphate
Nanowhiskers produced by
microwave assisted method
can be used as Bioceramics
to human bone
Gas sensor
SnO
2
Nanowhiskers showed
a high sensitivity of 2350
ppmethanol gas at 300

C,
which is much higher than
that of regular SnO
2
films.
FE-SEM image of SnO
2
Nanowhiskers synthesized
by thermal evaporation
Electronics
Nio
2
Nanowhiskers having long life-cycle, High
specific capacitance, high power, high stability, and
low cost of the electrode materials are favorable
factors for commercial applications
Anisotropic Etching of SiC Whiskers were used as
building blocks in the fabrication of sensors, cellular
probes, electronic, optoelectronic,
electromechanical, and other devices.
Be the Best and
Betray the Worst.