Publications

Publications / SAND Report

Engineered Reliability via Intrinsic Thermomechanical Stability of an Electrodeposited Au-Pt Nanocrystalline Alloy

Klavetter, Kyle C.; Coleman, Jonathan J.; Argibay, Nicolas A.

This research objective of this EELDRD study was to learn to electrodeposit Pt Au alloys with independently controlled composition and grain size. What was accomplished was the capability to electrodeposit PtAu alloys with controlled composition and a nanocrysolline grain size. Nanocrystalline metals as a class and, specifically, the Pt0.9Au0.1 alloy developed in 2015-17 via sputtering at Sandia National Labs have clear advantages in strength, wear resistance, and fatigue tolerance over commercially-available structural alloys. With this capability befitting coating of complex components and implementable at existing vendors, we can upgrade the electrical contact component reliability of selected Labs systems.