Nanoscale particles modified gold plating for electrical contacts

Abstract

When using precious metals, one of the limitations to their lifetime is the tribological behaviour of the plating material, particularly the wear resistance. Gold is one of the most commonly used precious plating materials for high performance connectors. Pure gold is very soft. In order to improve the wear resistance of gold plates, hard gold is usually used. The high degree of hardness is achieved by alloying elements such as cobalt, iron or nickel. However, the effect of alloying elements is limited by the galvanic process and other surface properties, which are also required for electric contacts. Our study investigates a new way of modification of gold plates. Instead of alloying elements, nanoscale particles both metal oxides and PTFE particles, are used for the modification of plates. Some of the nanoscale particles show considerable impact on the performance of plates for electric contacts. This paper shows the new results and new challenges when using nanoscale particles for electroplating.