A red gold alloy for a target material and use thereof

Abstract

The application discloses a red gold alloy for a target material and application thereof. The red gold alloy for the target material comprises 15-19% of Cu, 0.05-0.5% of Ru, 0.05-0.2% of Ga, a mass ratio of Ge to Cu being 1:100-2:100, the rest being Au, and other inevitable impurity elements. The red gold alloy for the target material has small solidification crystallization intervals, small casting grain organizations, no obvious casting defects such as pores and inclusions and the like, and can obtain very dense organizations after rolling, thereby meeting internal organization requirements of the target material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of alloy technology, and in particular to a red gold alloy for target materials and its applications. Background Technology

[0002] Rose gold, a reddish-brown gold alloy, is a popular trend in the international jewelry industry due to its elegant and captivating color, especially appealing to Chinese aesthetics, compared to the vibrant gold and understated white gold. Industry professionals have given this material a romantic name based on its unique color: rose gold, representing the eternal theme of love. Rose gold jewelry, with its distinctive style and cultural significance, has opened up a new world for precious metal jewelry, becoming a new favorite among fashion enthusiasts. Many internationally renowned jewelry and watch brands, such as Titoni, Cartier, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, have all launched multiple series of rose gold jewelry and watches, sparking a global rose gold trend. Besides using rose gold in the jewelry itself, the industry also widely uses it as a plating material for craft jewelry, most notably electroplated rose gold. This is an electroplating process using an Au-Cu binary alloy, resulting in a bright and vibrant color and excellent appearance. However, the most prominent problem in rose gold electroplating is its environmental hazard. To achieve excellent plating results, the rose gold plating solution system mainly uses potassium gold cyanide as the main salt and potassium cyanide as the complexing agent. This plating solution has excellent dispersing and deep plating capabilities, resulting in a fine and uniform coating. However, cyanide is a highly toxic chemical, causing serious harm to operators and the environment. my country has explicitly restricted the use of cyanide in electroplating production, and the industry is working hard to develop cyanide-free or low-cyanide gold alloy electroplating solution systems. Currently, sulfite plating solutions and citrate plating solutions are widely used, but they suffer from problems such as poor solution stability and unsatisfactory plating results. In fact, whether it is a cyanide-free plating solution or a cyanide-free or low-cyanide plating solution, they all involve depositing a coating on the surface of jewelry through electroplating. Electroplating is a typical high-energy-consuming, high-polluting, and low-efficiency production method, characterized by small-scale production, scattered operation points, outdated technology, low industrial level, and numerous safety hazards.

[0003] In 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) formulated the "Standard Conditions for the Electroplating Industry" to promote the industrial restructuring and transformation and upgrading of the electroplating industry. In 2017, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) released the national standard "Technical Specifications for Application and Issuance of Discharge Permits for the Electroplating Industry." Many localities stopped approving new electroplating projects for contract manufacturing and intensified monitoring and handling of existing electroplating enterprises. In November 2021, the "14th Five-Year Plan for Green Development of Industry" (MIIT Regulation

[2021] No. 178) explicitly proposed to continuously promote the construction of green products, green factories, green industrial parks, and green supply chain management enterprises. It is foreseeable that environmental governance will become increasingly stringent in the future, and strict inspections will become the norm. The fragmented and extensive electroplating production model of the jewelry industry faces severe challenges and urgently needs to find new green and environmentally friendly jewelry coating processes. Vacuum magnetron sputtering coating is a new generation of surface treatment technology. It involves ionizing argon gas under certain vacuum conditions. The argon ions are accelerated under the action of an electric field to bombard the target material, sputtering out a large number of target atoms, which are then deposited on the substrate to form a film. This coating process boasts advantages such as high sputtering rate, good film uniformity, controllable film thickness, strong adhesion to the substrate, and no pollution, making it widely used in aerospace, electronics, and optics. In recent years, magnetron sputtering coating technology has begun to be introduced into the jewelry industry. Sputtering targets are key raw materials for magnetron sputtering thin film preparation, and their quality is one of the key factors determining film performance. However, there are currently very few precious metal sputtering targets available on the market, and rose gold sputtering targets suitable for jewelry coating and decoration are particularly scarce. Rose gold used in jewelry making is not suitable for direct use as a target material, mainly for the following reasons: Firstly, in terms of purity, among karat gold jewelry materials, 14K and 18K are the most widely used purityes, with standard gold contents of 58.3% and 75% respectively. The remaining gold is mainly composed of copper alloying elements, with the copper content used to adjust the alloy's color. Because copper is chemically unstable and has poor corrosion and weather resistance, rose gold is prone to darkening and discoloration during use, severely deteriorating the product's appearance. Secondly, the color of rose gold is not ideal, lacking luster and appearing too somber, affecting the product's fashionability. Thirdly, existing materials are prone to gas absorption and oxidation during smelting and casting, resulting in large crystallization intervals. Casting is prone to defects such as porosity, oxide inclusions, and loose structure, while the target material requires high density. Casting defects will worsen the coating effect of the target material. Fourthly, existing rose gold materials are mostly used for casting and have poor cold working performance, making them unsuitable for the cold working requirements of the target material.

[0004] Currently, Au85Cu15 is the most widely used rose gold sputtering target in the market. While its composition is simple and its manufacturing process is relatively convenient, its physical, chemical, and mechanical properties are not ideal. It has a dull color and is not good in terms of high-temperature oxidation resistance, weather resistance, and corrosion resistance. Its hardness is low, resulting in poor film performance, low gloss, and a tendency to darken and discolor during use. Furthermore, it lacks wear resistance and is prone to discoloration and dullness. In response to the current shortage of rose gold sputtering targets in the market, some researchers have conducted related studies and reported some results. For example, patent CN101358331 discloses a magnetron sputtering rose gold target and its preparation method, with the following chemical composition: gold 65–78 wt%, copper 16–33 wt%, yttrium 0.01–4 wt%, zinc 1–7 wt%, cobalt 0.001–1.2 wt%, antimony 0.001–0.2 wt%, and indium 0.02–5 wt%. However, the red color of this sputtering target is too pale, the gold content is low, and it contains harmful heavy metal elements. Patent CN102703751A discloses a low-gold-content rose gold target for vacuum magnetron sputtering and its preparation method. The target composition is 50–60 wt.% Au, 30–42 wt.% Cu, 1.4–5.0 wt.% Zn, 0.5–4.0 wt.% Al, 1.0–3.7 wt.% In, 0.1–1.3 wt.% Co, and 0.05–1.5 wt.% Y. This rose gold target has a gold content of only 50–60 wt.% Au. Although this reduces the preparation cost, it is unsuitable for surface coating of medium- to high-purity jewelry. Furthermore, the material's pale color results in poor casting and processing performance, making it prone to oxide inclusions and affecting the coating quality. Patent CN104032273A discloses an anti-discoloration rose gold target and its preparation method. Its chemical composition includes 65-75 wt% Au, 15-35 wt% Cu, 4-10 wt% Ir, and 0-2 wt% additives. Ir is used to replace Ag to improve the wear resistance and oxidation resistance of the film. However, the large amount of Ir in the alloy easily leads to segregation, resulting in uneven film color and the appearance of discolored spots. Patent CN109182824A discloses a rose gold coating and its preparation process. The composition of the rose gold coating is: 12-20 wt% Cu, 5-15 wt% Pd, 0.5-0.7 wt% Er, 0.1-0.2 wt% Nd, with the remainder being Au. This rose gold has a high palladium content, which has a significant bleaching effect on the alloy, affecting its red color. Furthermore, the high content of rare earth elements significantly increases the brittleness of the alloy. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, one of the objectives of this invention is to provide a red gold alloy for target materials, which has a small solidification and crystallization interval, fine casting grain structure, no obvious casting defects such as porosity and inclusions, and can obtain a very dense structure after rolling, thus meeting the internal structure requirements of target materials.

[0006] The second objective of this invention is to provide a method for using the above-mentioned target material with a red gold alloy in vacuum magnetron sputtering to prepare rose gold jewelry.

[0007] One of the objectives of this invention is to achieve it using the following technical solution:

[0008] A red gold alloy for target materials comprises the following components by weight percentage:

[0009] 15–19% Cu, 0.05–0.5% Ru, 0.05–0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100–2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0010] That is, the present invention is based on Au-Cu binary alloy, and by combining elements such as Ru, Ga, and Ge, the solidification and crystallization interval of the alloy is small, the casting grain structure is fine, and there are no obvious casting defects such as porosity and inclusions. After rolling, a very dense structure can be obtained, which meets the internal structure requirements of the target material. The film is then deposited on the surface of jewelry products through vacuum magnetron sputtering process.

[0011] The ideas of this invention are as follows: (1) The target material is the source of the decorative film. The physical properties, chemical properties, mechanical properties, and processing properties of the film all depend on the chemical composition and microstructure of the material. (2) Color is one of the most important physical properties of the decorative film. Gold and copper are the only two elements among all metal elements that have color. Copper is purplish-red and is an essential element to obtain red. Therefore, rose gold for sputtering targets must be based on the gold-copper system. However, the colors of these two metals are relatively dark and not bright enough to meet the bright and fashionable feel of jewelry films. Therefore, elements that can improve the brightness of the alloy must be added. (3) Gold-copper alloys have poor corrosion resistance and are prone to darkening and discoloration in the atmosphere. Alloy elements that can form a dense protective layer on the surface need to be added to improve the corrosion resistance of the film. (4) Gold-copper alloys are prone to porosity during casting and easily form dispersed oxide inclusions, which affect the surface quality of the target material. Therefore, elements that help improve this need to be added. Gold-copper alloys undergo an ordered transformation, especially in the composition range close to 18K, where an ordered Au3Cu phase is easily formed, leading to brittleness and deteriorating deformation processing properties. Therefore, in the development of rose gold, it is necessary to add alloying elements to the gold-copper system that can improve the microstructure, hardness, corrosion resistance, and brightness of the material, so that the alloy has good overall performance.

[0012] Its specific technical principle is as follows:

[0013] 1. Gold (Au). It is the basic element of rose gold, and its content determines the purity and properties of the target material. Gold is golden yellow, a warm color, and the blending of gold and copper forms the basis of rose gold. Simultaneously, as a decorative protective coating, to ensure the target material meets the color requirements of most jewelry coatings while achieving excellent corrosion resistance, the gold content cannot be too low. Through extensive testing, this invention found that when the gold content is below 70wt%, the alloy exhibits a color difference of 3.3 after immersing in human sweat for 24 hours, a degree of discoloration easily noticeable to the naked eye. As the gold content increases, the alloy's corrosion resistance in human sweat improves. When the purity reaches 18K, the alloy is prone to undergoing an ordered transformation, leading to brittleness and affecting processing performance. Further increasing the gold content further improves the alloy's corrosion resistance and correspondingly reduces the tendency for embrittlement due to the ordered transformation. However, when the gold content exceeds 86wt%, the material's color becomes too yellow, failing to meet the requirements for red, and the material's hardness is also low, which is detrimental to the wear resistance of the coating, and the cost also increases accordingly. Therefore, the present invention selects a gold content of 80-85 wt%, such as 80 wt%, 82 wt%, 84 wt%, and 85 wt%.

[0014] 2. Copper (Cu). It is the basic alloying element for achieving a red color. As the copper content increases, the red-green index a* value of the alloy increases, making the alloy appear redder. Therefore, to achieve a sufficient red color, the copper content cannot be too low. However, copper itself has poor brightness and poor corrosion resistance, easily becoming dull and discolored in the atmosphere, and easily corroded and discolored by human sweat. Furthermore, copper has a high tendency to absorb gas and oxidize during smelting, but castings are prone to porosity and oxide inclusions. Through extensive experimentation, this invention has found that for a gold-copper alloy with a gold content of 80 wt%, when the copper content is below 15 wt%, the red color of the alloy is relatively light, resulting in poor decorative effect; while when the copper content is above 19 wt%, the alloy exhibits a greater tendency for ordered transformation leading to material embrittlement, and porosity and oxide inclusions are easily formed during smelting. Therefore, this invention ultimately selects a copper content of 15–19 wt%, such as 15 wt%, 16 wt%, 17 wt%, 18 wt%, and 19 wt%.

[0015] 3. Germanium (Ge). Adding germanium to gold-copper alloys can increase the alloy's brightness, improve smelting and casting performance, and reduce absorbed oxidation. Experiments in this invention show that the germanium content needs to be determined based on the copper content. When the germanium-copper ratio is less than 1:100, the effect of germanium in improving color and metallurgical quality is not significant. However, when the germanium-copper ratio is greater than 2:100, it will dilute the alloy's red color and increase the risk of brittleness and oxide inclusions in the ingot. Therefore, this invention ultimately selects a germanium-copper ratio of 1:100 to 2:100, such as 1:100, 1.2:100, 1.4:100, 1.5:100, 1.6:100, 1.8:100, and 2:100.

[0016] 4. Ruthenium (Ru). Ruthenium has a high melting point and good chemical stability. Like gold, it is a precious metal. Adding it to gold-copper alloys can significantly refine the grain size, improve the surface quality of the alloy, and also greatly enhance its brightness. Experiments in this invention show that when the ruthenium content is below 0.05 wt%, its effect is not significant; while when its content exceeds 0.5 wt%, defects such as segregation and hard spots are prone to occur, affecting the uniformity of the alloy composition and increasing the difficulty of smelting. Therefore, this invention ultimately selects a ruthenium content of 0.05–0.5 wt%, such as 0.05 wt%, 0.08 wt%, 0.1 wt%, 0.12 wt%, 0.15 wt%, 0.2 wt%, 0.25 wt%, 0.3 wt%, 0.35 wt%, 0.4 wt%, 0.45 wt%, and 0.5 wt%. Preferably, the ruthenium content is 0.08–0.45 wt%.

[0017] 5. Gallium (Ga). Gallium can form a dense oxide film on the surface, exhibiting excellent antioxidant and corrosion resistance, and effectively improving brightness. More importantly, this invention has found through experiments that the presence of trace amounts of gallium in the coating can significantly enhance its antibacterial activity, achieving bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects by interfering with bacterial metabolism. However, when the gallium content is too high, the solidification interval of the alloy increases, which is detrimental to the densification of the ingot's solidification structure. Therefore, this invention ultimately selects a gallium content of 0.05–0.2 wt%.

[0018] In summary, by taking into account the properties of the above materials and considering the special requirements of jewelry coatings for decoration, safety, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance, the above material composition was designed based on Au-Cu binary alloys. This was achieved by comprehensively controlling the composition, microstructure, and properties of the alloy through multi-element alloying, taking into account physical, chemical, mechanical, and processing properties.

[0019] Furthermore, the red gold alloy for the target material comprises the following components by weight percentage:

[0020] 17–19% Cu, 0.2–0.45% Ru, 0.1–0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100–2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0021] More preferably, the mass ratio of Ge to Cu is 1.5:100 to 2:100.

[0022] Furthermore, the red gold alloy for the target material comprises the following components by weight percentage:

[0023] 15–17% Cu, 0.08–0.2% Ru, 0.05–0.1% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100–2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0024] More preferably, the mass ratio of Ge to Cu is 1:100 to 1.5:100.

[0025] One of the objectives of this invention is also achieved through the following technical solution:

[0026] A red gold alloy for target materials comprises the following components by weight percentage:

[0027] 17% Cu, 0.2% Ru, 0.1% Ga, Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1.5:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0028] One of the objectives of this invention is also achieved through the following technical solution:

[0029] A red gold alloy for target materials comprises the following components by weight percentage:

[0030] 15% Cu, 0.45% Ru, 0.2% Ga, Ge to Cu mass ratio of 2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0031] One of the objectives of this invention is also achieved through the following technical solution:

[0032] A red gold alloy for target materials comprises the following components by weight percentage:

[0033] 19% Cu, 0.05% Ru, 0.05% Ga, Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0034] One of the objectives of this invention is also achieved through the following technical solution:

[0035] A red gold alloy for target materials, characterized by comprising the following components by weight percentage:

[0036] 15–19% Cu, 0.08–0.45% Ru, 0.05–0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100–2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements.

[0037] Furthermore, in the above scheme, the total content of the other unavoidable impurity elements does not exceed 0.1 wt%.

[0038] The second objective of this invention is to achieve this through the following technical solution:

[0039] One application is the use of the aforementioned red gold alloy for the target material in the preparation of rose gold jewelry.

[0040] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0041] 1. Based on the special requirements of jewelry product coating for decoration, safety, wear resistance and corrosion resistance, this invention uses Au-Cu binary alloy to comprehensively control its composition, structure and properties from various aspects such as physical properties, chemical properties, mechanical properties and processing properties through multi-element alloying. The resulting red gold alloy for the target material has a small solidification and crystallization interval, fine casting grain structure, and no obvious casting defects such as porosity and inclusions. After rolling, a very dense structure can be obtained, which meets the internal structure requirements of the target material.

[0042] 2. The red gold alloy used in the target material of this invention has a purity of not less than 18K, meeting the composition requirements of most karat gold, and its color is superior to standard 5N color. The film layer has excellent wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and antibacterial properties. Attached Figure Description

[0043] Figure 1 The image shows the microstructure of the ingot surface morphology of the alloy in Example 3.

[0044] Figure 2 The image shows the microstructure of the ingot surface morphology of the alloy in Comparative Example 1.

[0045] Figure 3 The image shows the metallographic structure of the alloy in Comparative Example 1 after rolling.

[0046] Figure 4 The image shows the metallographic structure of the alloy in Example 1 after rolling.

[0047] Figure 5 The reflectance of the alloy materials of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 to visible light is shown in the diagram.

[0048] Figure 6 The impedance values ​​of the test pieces of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 in artificial sweat are shown in the graph.

[0049] Figure 7 The Tafel curves of the test pieces of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 in artificial sweat are shown.

[0050] Figure 8 The indentation curves of the targets made of the alloys of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 after sputtering coating are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0051] The present invention will now be further described in conjunction with specific embodiments. It should be noted that, without conflict, the various embodiments or technical features described below can be arbitrarily combined to form new embodiments. In the following embodiments, Au, Cu, Ru, Ga, and Ge are all pure metal materials with a purity of 99.5% or higher.

[0052] Example 1

[0053] A red gold alloy for target material has the following chemical composition by mass percentage: 17% Cu, 0.2% Ru, 0.1% Ga, with a Ge to Cu ratio of 1.5:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurities.

[0054] Example 2

[0055] A red gold alloy for target material has the following chemical composition by mass percentage: 15% Cu, 0.45% Ru, 0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu ratio of 2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurities.

[0056] Example 3

[0057] A red gold alloy for target material has the following chemical composition by mass percentage: 19% Cu, 0.05% Ru, 0.05% Ga, with a Ge to Cu ratio of 1:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurities.

[0058] Comparative Example 1

[0059] One alloy is Au85Cu15 red gold (the most commonly used alloy on the market).

[0060] Performance testing

[0061] The performance comparisons of each embodiment and the comparative example are as follows:

[0062] 1. Crystallization temperature interval

[0063] The differential thermal properties of the samples from Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 were tested using a differential thermal analyzer, and the results are shown in Table 1.

[0064] Table 1 Melting temperatures of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1

[0065]

[0066] From Table 1 above, it can be seen that the melting temperature range of Example 1 is smaller than that of Comparative Example 1. Generally speaking, the smaller the melting temperature range, the more beneficial it is for the flow of molten metal and solidification feeding, thus improving casting process performance. Therefore, Example 1 is advantageous for obtaining excellent casting quality when casting target ingots. The other two examples are also very similar to Example 1.

[0067] 2. Resistance to high-temperature oxidation

[0068] The ingots of Example 3 and Comparative Example 1 were heated to 700°C, held at that temperature for 30 minutes, and then quenched in water. The surface morphology of the ingots was as follows: Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown.

[0069] from Figure 1 and Figure 2 As can be seen, after heating, the sample in Comparative Example 1 showed severe surface oxidation, forming a continuous black oxide film that was difficult to peel off. The surface of Example 3 only had scattered fragments of black oxide film, which were easily peeled off. The other two examples were very similar to Example 3.

[0070] 3. Density change before and after rolling

[0071] Using the same rolling conditions, the density of the ingot in Comparative Example 1 increased by 1.35% after rolling deformation with a cumulative rolling amount of 75%, while the density of the ingot in Example 2 increased by only 0.87% after rolling. This indicates that the ingot in Example 2 has better density, providing a good foundation for the production of target materials.

[0072] 4. Microstructure

[0073] Using the same rolling conditions, the metallographic structures of Comparative Example 1 and Example 1 after rolling are as follows: Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown.

[0074] from Figure 3 and Figure 4 As can be seen, the grains in Example 1 are finer than those in Comparative Example 1, with no obvious pores or oxide inclusions, demonstrating excellent metallurgical quality. The other two examples are also very similar to Example 1.

[0075] 5. Color

[0076] The reflectance of the red gold alloy materials in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 to visible light is as follows: Figure 5 As shown.

[0077] from Figure 5As can be seen, the reflectivity of the alloy material in Example 1 is higher than that in Comparative Example 1 in the 360–520 nm and 610–740 nm wavelength bands, while its reflectivity in the 530–600 nm wavelength band is basically the same as that in Comparative Example 1. Clearly, the brightness value of the alloy material in Example 1 is improved, while the chromaticity value is basically close. Therefore, when Example 1 is used as a sputtering target, the coated film has high brightness, significantly increasing the fashionable appearance of the film. The other two examples are also very similar to Example 1.

[0078] 6. Corrosion resistance

[0079] The impedance and polarization curves (Tafel curves) of the test pieces from Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 in artificial sweat were detected using an electrochemical workstation, as shown below. Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown.

[0080] from Figure 6 and Figure 7 As can be seen, the impedance values ​​of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 are 47.6KΩ and 45.7KΩ, respectively, while their self-corrosion potentials in artificial sweat are 0.046V and -0.005V, respectively. Furthermore, the self-corrosion current of Example 1 is significantly lower than that of Comparative Example 1. Therefore, Example 1 exhibits superior corrosion resistance in artificial sweat compared to Comparative Example 1.

[0081] In addition, after immersing the samples of Example 2 and Comparative Example 1 in artificial sweat for 4 hours, the color difference of Example 2 was 1.29 and the color difference of Comparative Example 1 was 1.64. The anti-photochromic performance of Example 2 was 21% better than that of Comparative Example 1.

[0082] The samples from Example 3 and Comparative Example 1 were placed in a yellowing resistance test chamber and subjected to simulated sunlight exposure for 18 hours. The color difference of Example 3 was 0.27, and the color difference of Comparative Example 1 was 0.41. The performance of Example 3 in resisting light discoloration was 52% better than that of Comparative Example 1.

[0083] 5. Abrasion resistance

[0084] The as-cast hardness of Example 1 is HV190, and the hardness after 60% rolling is HV260. The ingot is processed into a sputtering target (using conventional target manufacturing processes). After sputtering coating, the indentation test results of the coating are as follows: Figure 8 As shown.

[0085] from Figure 8 It can be seen that, under the same test conditions, the indentation depth of Example 1 is shallower than that of Comparative Example 1. According to calculation, the average film hardness of Comparative Example 1 is HV354, while the average film hardness of Example 1 is HV443, which reflects better wear resistance.

[0086] 6. Antibacterial properties

[0087] The targets prepared in Example 3 and Comparative Example 1 were used for coating, and the film layers were subjected to contact antibacterial tests. The bacterial species were Aspergillus flavus and Staphylococcus aureus, as shown in Table 2 below.

[0088] Table 2 Comparison of antibacterial properties of sputtered film layers of target materials in Example 3 and Comparative Example 1

[0089]

[0090] The results showed that the antibacterial effect of the membrane in Example 3 against both bacterial species was better than that in Comparative Example 1.

[0091] The above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Any non-substantial changes and substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A red gold alloy for target materials, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 15-19% Cu, 0.05-0.5% Ru, 0.05-0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100-2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

2. The red gold alloy for the target material according to claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 17-19% Cu, 0.2-0.45% Ru, 0.1-0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100-2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

3. The red gold alloy for the target material according to claim 2, characterized in that, The mass ratio of Ge to Cu is 1.5:100 to 2:

100.

4. The red gold alloy for the target material according to claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 15-17% Cu, 0.08-0.2% Ru, 0.05-0.1% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100-2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

5. The red gold alloy for the target material according to claim 4, characterized in that, The mass ratio of Ge to Cu is 1:100 to 1.5:

100.

6. A red gold alloy for a target material, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 17% Cu, 0.2% Ru, 0.1% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1.5:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

7. A red gold alloy for a target material, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 15% Cu, 0.45% Ru, 0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

8. A red gold alloy for a target material, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 19% Cu, 0.05% Ru, 0.05% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

9. A red gold alloy for a target material, characterized in that, Includes the following components by weight percentage: The target material contains 15-19% Cu, 0.08-0.45% Ru, 0.05-0.2% Ga, with a Ge to Cu mass ratio of 1:100-2:100, the remainder being Au, and other unavoidable impurity elements. The red gold alloy used for the target material has a purity of not less than 18K.

10. An application characterized in that, The red gold alloy for the target material as described in any one of claims 1-9 is used in the preparation of rose gold jewelry.

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