Comparative Study of Fire-Gilded and Electroplated Gold Films on Copper Substrates

Authors

  • P. Joshi Department of Physics, Bhaktapur Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University, Bhaktapur, Nepal
  • N. Maharjan Department of Physics, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York 11210, USA
  • M. L. Nakarmi Department of Physics, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York 11210, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3126/jnphyssoc.v8i3.50717

Keywords:

Corrosion resistance, Electroplating, Fire-gilding, Gold thin film, Reflectance, Surface morphology

Abstract

We compared the structural and optical properties of the gold films deposited on copper substrates by the traditional fire-gilding method and electroplating method which are being adopted by the craftsmen in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and reflectance spectroscopy were employed to characterize the surface morphology and optical reflectance of the samples, respectively. In the AFM images of the surface of the gold films, we observed that the surfaces of the fire-gilded films not only are smoother but also have higher reflectance than that of the electroplated gold films. In the corrosion experiment by chemical etching of the gold films, fire-gilded samples showed superior corrosion resistance than electroplated gold films.

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Published

2022-12-30

How to Cite

Joshi, P., Maharjan, N., & Nakarmi, M. L. (2022). Comparative Study of Fire-Gilded and Electroplated Gold Films on Copper Substrates. Journal of Nepal Physical Society, 8(3), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.3126/jnphyssoc.v8i3.50717

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2022)

Section

Articles

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