Corrosion Inhibition and Wear Protection of Gold Plated Connector Contacts

The increasing reliability requirements for low-voltage electric contacts has led to a search for methods which could make gold plated surfaces impervious to the effects of atmospheric pollutants. The susceptibility of thin gold plate to corrosion is due both to its inherent porosity and its removal by wear. Because of these breaks in the plate, pollutants can attack the substrate metal or underplate to produce insulating corrosion products. The best methods were the application of a pore-blocking corrosion inhibitor and a lubricant coating having a liquid component. They ´inhibited corrosion and wear effectively, without significantly increasing contact resistance compared to untreated samples.