An estimation of the reflectivity of some monophasic binary gold alloys

The reflectivity of homogeneous binary gold alloys of formula AuxM1-x, where M is silver, platinum, and palladium, has been modelled using only the available optical constants of the pure parent metals, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The estimated reflectivity curves are compared with experimentally determined reflectivity curves for some of these alloys. It is seen that the great flattening of reflectivity curve in the visible spectrum is instigated by the addition of platinum and palladium. These metals have an almost identical decolorizing effect in gold alloys. The silver addition to gold is much more benign in this respect. The results were shown to give reasonable approximations, suggesting that the method has utility for the estimation of the reflectivity of alloys when no experimental data are available.