Gold conductivity

P. Englebienne and A. Van Hoonacker, Gold-conductive polymer nanoparticles A hybrid material with enhanced photonic reactivity to environmental stimuli, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 292, 445-454 (2005). 

The manufactme of jewelry accounts for 78 percent of the gold used each year. However, because gold conducts electricity and does not corrode, it is used as a conductor in sophisticated electronic devices such as ceU phones, calculators, television sets, personal digital assistants, and Global Positioning Systems. 

Several gold based alloys used for electrical contacts have been evaluated by exposure to oxidation, HjS or SOj whilst the corrosion failure mechanism associated with gold metallisation in electronic circuits have been reported. Growth of gold shorts from a cathodic conductor occurs if chloride ions are present whilst a voluminous reaction product of Au(OH)3 is produced by the anodisation of an anodically biased conductor. No electronic circuit using gold conducting paths, is totally immune to corrosion failure. 

Since the use of a corrosion-resistant layer may also increase the conduction heat resistant, some developers proposed another approach in an effort to provide both high conductivity and high corrosion resistance of the plate surface. In this approach, a nonconductive corrosion-resistant coating layer is used over a major portion of the metal plate surface and a portion of conductive corrosion-resistant material on small selected spots, known as conductive vias, of the metal surface. Some of the most popular conductive vias materials are gold, conductive carbide, and carbon nanotubes. 

Since scanning tunneling microscopy requires flat conducting surfaces, it is not surprising that most of its early application was to study inorganic materials [17, 19, 20, 29-34]. These studies include investigations of catalytic metal surfaces [24, 35-37], silicon and other oxides [21], superconductors [38], gold... 

Pure silver has a brilliant white metallic luster. It is a little harder than gold and is very ductile and malleable, being exceeded only by gold and perhaps palladium. Pure silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of all metals, and possesses the lowest contact resistance. It is stable in pure air and water, but tarnishes when exposed to ozone, hydrogen sulfide, or air containing sulfur. The alloys of silver are important. 

Its conductivity increases slightly with exposure to light. It can be doped with silver, copper, gold, tin, or other elements. In air, tellurium burns with a greenish-blue flames, forming the dioxide. Molten tellurium corrodes iron, copper, and stainless steel. 

Electroforrning, which is used in the production of art objects or jewelry is a combination of electroless plating and electro deposition. A wax mold of the object to be produced is made conductive by electroless gold plating, a thick layer of gold or gold alloy is then electrodeposited and, finally, the wax is removed by melting (134). 

Metal powder—glass powder—binder mixtures are used to apply conductive (or resistive) coatings to ceramics or metals, especially for printed circuits and electronics parts on ceramic substrates, such as multichip modules. Multiple layers of aluminum nitride [24304-00-5] AIN, or aluminay ceramic are fused with copper sheet and other metals in powdered form. The mixtures are appHed as a paste, paint, or slurry, then fired to fuse the metal and glass to the surface while burning off the binder. Copper, palladium, gold, silver, and many alloys are commonly used. 

Impurities in cmde metal can occur as other metals or nonmetals, either dissolved or in some occluded form. Normally, impurities are detrimental, making the metal less useful and less valuable. Sometimes, as in the case of copper, extremely small impurity concentrations, eg, arsenic, can impart a harmful effect on a given physical property, eg, electrical conductivity. On the other hand, impurities may have commercial value. For example, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, associated with copper, each has value. In the latter situation, the purity of the metal is usually improved by some refining technique, thereby achieving some value-added and by-product credit. 

Epoxies are the most commonly used adhesives (qv). Silver and gold are sometimes added to an epoxy to improve its thermal conductivity. Polyimide, also used as an adhesive, has low shrinkage as well as low viscosity and can be cured at 180°C its primary drawback is a tendency to absorb water, as much as 6% by weight. 

Copper is universally used as the metal plating for tape because it can be easily laminated with copper and the various plastic tapes. Copper is readily etched and has excellent electrical and thermal conductivity in both electrodeposited and roUed-annealed form. The tape metal plating is normally gold- or tin-plated to ensure good bondabiUty during inner- and outer-lead bonding operations and to provide better shelf life and corrosion resistance. 

Silver, a white, lustrous metal, slightly less malleable and ductile than gold (see Gold and gold compounds), has high thermal and electrical conductivity (see SiLVERAND SILVER alloys). Most silver compounds are made from silver nitrate [7761-88-8], AgNO, which is prepared from silver metal. 

Zinc—bromine storage batteries (qv) are under development as load-leveling devices in electric utilities (64). Photovoltaic batteries have been made of selenium or boron doped with bromine. Graphite fibers and certain polymers can be made electrically conductive by being doped with bromine. Bromine is used in quartz—haUde light bulbs. Bromine is used to etch aluminum, copper, and semi-conductors. Bromine and its salts are known to recover gold and other precious metals from their ores. Bromine can be used to desulfurize fine coal (see Coal conversion processes). Table 5 shows estimates of the primary uses of bromine. 

Copper has a high electrical conductivity that is second only to that of silver. The conductivity of silver in % lACS units is 108 gold, 73 aluminum, 64 and iron, 18. Wrought copper having a conductivity near 102% lACS is not uncommon because of improvements in refining practices since the standard was first estabUshed. 

Device materials again may be conductive, semiconductive, dielectric, or resistive. Conductors are typically gold or aluminum, and resistors, sHicon monoxide or sHicon nitride. Tantalum nitride and nickel chromium are common resistor materials. 

We have conducted the comparative study of gold (III), platinum (IV) and palladium (II) acidocomplexes solution on macroporous granular sorbents on the basis of polystyrene with functional groups of methyleneamine, 3-methylpyrasolyl, N,N-dimethylaminomethylene, dimethylmethylene-P-oxyethylamine and with functional 6-(3-methylpyridine) groups on polyvinylpyridine basis as well as fibrous polystyrene sorbent with pyrazolyl groups. 

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