Bronze

Alloys of copper with tin and any other additives are called bronze. Under normal conditions, the structure of a copper alloy with up to 8% tin is homogeneous and consists of mixed crystals. This structure is characterized by excellent cold deformability and a high degree of strengthening. In general, the moulded alloys will be deoxidized with phosphorus to prevent the formation of the hard tin (II). From this de-oxidation method bronze qualities like CuSn6 and CuSn8 derive their name 'phosphor bronze'.