The Difference between Tin Foil And Aluminium Foil

Tin foil

Basic information

- Composition:

The main component is tin (Sn). It is a silver-white metal with a soft, lustrous texture. Pure tin has good ductility, which enables it to be pressed into very thin foils. However, some of the so-called ‘tin foil’ may be an alloy containing tin, as pure tin is relatively expensive and alloys can reduce the cost to some extent and improve certain properties such as strength.

- Appearance:

Tin foil is usually shiny and has a metallic lustre. Its colour is generally silver-white or silver-white with a slight yellowish tinge, depending on factors such as the purity of the tin and the processing technology. And tin foil is very thin, the thickness can be made according to different uses very thin, such as in some packaging on the way, it can be thin enough to be easily torn or folded.

 Uses

1. Traditional Ritual Uses

  - Tin foil is widely used in the rituals of many cultures. For example, in traditional Chinese customs, tin foil is folded into the shapes of yuanbao, silver ingots, etc., and burned in honour of ancestors or gods. It is believed that by burning these tin foil products, they can transform them into riches from the other world, express their respect and thoughts for the deceased, and pray for the blessings of the gods.

2. Food packaging uses

  - As tin foil has good barrier properties to oxygen, water vapour and so on. So it can be used to package some foodstuffs that need to be kept fresh, such as chocolates, high-grade candies and so on. It can prevent the food from oxidising and deteriorating, moisture, so as to prolong the shelf life of the food. And tin foil is non-toxic, will not cause pollution to food, in line with the safety requirements of food packaging.

3. Industrial use

  - In the electronic industry, tin foil can be used as an electromagnetic shielding material. For example, wrapping tin foil around the circuit boards of some precision electronic equipment can effectively prevent external electromagnetic interference, and at the same time reduce the impact of electromagnetic radiation generated by the equipment itself on the surrounding environment. In addition, tin foil can also be used as a lining material in some chemical processes, playing a protective and isolating role.

Aluminium Foil

Definition and Composition

Tin foil is primarily a thin sheet made from the metal tin (Sn). Tin is a silvery-white metal with a soft texture and good ductility, which allows it to be worked into very thin foils. However, some tin foils on the market may be made from tin alloys due to the high cost of pure tin, whereas alloys can reduce the cost to a certain extent and potentially improve certain properties such as toughness.

Physical Properties

Appearance:

Tin foil has a bright metallic sheen, usually silver-white or silver-white with a slight yellowish tinge. This lustre makes it visually appealing, especially when used for decorative or ceremonial purposes.

Thickness and Flexibility:

Tin foil is very thin and its thickness can vary depending on the application. It has good flexibility and can be easily bent, folded or curled, which allows it to be worked into a variety of shapes, such as folding it into the shape of yuanbao, silver ingots, and so on, during traditional rituals.

Chemical Properties

Tin is chemically stable at room temperature. It is not easily oxidised in air, although when the temperature rises, tin can also react with oxygen to form tin oxide. It reacts with some strong acids and bases, for example, with hydrochloric acid to form tin chloride and hydrogen gas.

Production Process

Tin foil is produced by melting the raw tin material to ensure its purity and to keep it in a liquid state. The tin ingots or slabs are then formed by casting, for example. Next, these blanks are rolled in a rolling mill, during which the rolls gradually reduce the thickness of the blanks to form tin foil after several passes. In this process, the temperature, rolling speed and other parameters need to be strictly controlled to ensure that the quality of tin foil is uniform and the thickness meets the requirements.

Comparison table between tin foil and aluminium foil