Age-hardening behaviors and grain boundary discontinuous precipitation in a Pd-free gold alloy for porcelain bonding.

Isothermal age-hardening behaviors at 400 degrees and 450 degrees C and discontinuous precipitation reaction at 450 degrees C in a commercial Pd-free gold alloy for porcelain bonding were investigated by hardness testing, X-ray powder diffraction, and light microscopy. Variations of electrical resistivity during continuous heating and cooling processes were also measured. The alloy exhibited pronounced age-hardening in the early stage of aging and the maximum hardness exceeded twice that of the solution-treated sample. Precise lattice parameter measurements and investigations of full width at half maximum values for the X-ray Bragg reflections implied that nonuniform strains due to the pre-precipitation or zone formation was responsible for the quick and pronounced age-hardening at 450 degrees C. Discontinuous precipitation reaction, producing a mixture of a small amount of Pt(3)In-phase with the L1(2)-type superstructure and a large amount of (Pt, In)-depleted solid solution, started at grain boundaries in the late stage of aging process at 450 degrees C. The growth of the grain boundary discontinuous precipitates toward the intragrain area led to a gradual decrease in hardness of the alloy.