Effects of Transition Metal Solutes on the Electrical Resistivity of Copper and Gold Between 4° and 1200°K

We have determined the solute contribution ρi(T,c) of the solutes Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni in copper and of the solutes Mn, Fe, and Co in gold over the temperature range 4° to 1200°K and over a wide range of solute concentrations. The parameter ρi(T,c) for a given solute is defined here as the difference ρi(T,c) =ρalloy(T,c)—ρsolvent(T). The temperature dependence of ρi is quite complicated for several of the solutes, in particular, Fe and Co. For example, in an alloy containing 0.05 at.%Fe in copper this quantity ρFe exhibits a minimum at 25°K and a maximum at 65°K. Alloys of Fe in gold exhibit a broad maximum in ρFe at temperatures between 70° and 200°K, depending upon the iron concentration. In all the alloys investigated, except for Ni in copper, ρi decreases with increasing temperature in the region of high temperatures (above about 500°K).