Dispersion Strengthened Gold-Platinum

Platinum alloys containing gold exhibit marked non-wetting characteristics with molten glasses. Simple gold-palladium alloys, however, are relatively weak while those that have rhodium added to increase their strength can be difficult to work, and also suffer from embrittlement during service. Now the binary alloys can be dispersion strengthened with zirconia to produce a material with the ductility of the simple binary and the higher hot strengths of rhodium-containing ternary alloys. This dispersion strengthened gold-platinum alloy has enhanced resistance to progressive contamination and offers a longer service life. It is being used successfully for specialised applications in the glass industry, for which it has potential, as well as for the apparatus in which samples for X-ray fluorescence analysis are prepared.