The corrosion resistance of gold can be put to good use in engineering

Engineers specify gold in a number of high-tech applications. It is used as a lubricating material, as a coating on architectural glass, in fuel cells, jet engines, and the list goes on.

When engineers need an excellent lubricating material, gold’s resistance to cold welding is ideal. Gold–based brazing alloys offer improved resistance to oxidation, good mechanical properties of joints at elevated temperatures, and excellent corrosion resistance in challenging environments.

A thin coating of gold glazing in windows provides excellent reflection of heat radiation, keeping buildings cool in summer and warm in winter. The Royal Bank Plaza building in Toronto, Canada, is a fascinating example, where all 14,000 windows are coated in 70kgs of pure gold.

Fuel cells continuously convert chemical energy to electrical energy. Many such cells include a series of bipolar plates typically made of a conductive material like stainless steel; incorporating a thin layer of conductive gold provides good corrosion resistance and reduces contact resistance between the plate and diffusion media in the cell.