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<div>The so-called tin pest is a phase transformation of white tin ((Sn)) into grey tin((Sn)), where the disintegration of tin materials occurs due to different thermodynamic stability of the phases with a transition at 13.2 °C. The degradation is relatively slow until -50 °C where the maximum speed is located. Therefore, one can trace research (over 100 years old) synthetizing pink salt (NH4)2SnCl6 and use it together with (Sn) particles inoculation to accelerate the tin pest process.Because (NH4)2SnCl6 was discovered in nature in 2009 in the volcanic dust of an Italian volcano, we decided to investigate its effect on tin material without the use of an inoculator, in aqueous and ethanol solution. To fully simulate the weathering conditions, we observed the samples at different temperatures.Tin in ethanol solution showed the tin pest, and this after only 5 days and at a temperature of just 4 °C. In aqueous solution, rapid degradation also occurred already at room temperature, but this was not tin pest. Based on these results, pink salt poses a serious risk, not only in the vicinity of the volcano, but also many kilometres away because of volcanic fallout and already at temperatures above zero.The samples were characterized with stereo microscope, scanning electron microscopy and Raman microscope.</div>
Keywords: Tin pest, (Sn), grey tin, pink salt, (NH4)2SnCl6© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.