AurumX-Coat™: Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene-Graphene Nanocomposite Coating for Complete Gold Replacement in High-Frequency Electronic Connectors via Ion Beam-Assisted Deposition

Preprint presenting AurumX-Coat™, a 35 nm Ti₃C₂Tₓ MXene film capped by 2-layer epitaxial graphene deposited via roll-to-roll IBAD for complete gold replacement in electronic connector plating. Achieves contact resistance Rc = 8.4 mΩ (vs. 7.9 mΩ for hard gold), >20,000 insertion cycles without delamination, MFG Class IIIA 21-day corrosion approval, zero cyanide liquid waste, and reduces coating cost by 96.5% (from US$420/m² to US$14.80/m²), saving US$112.4 million annually for a 50M-connector/year OEM while cutting CO₂ footprint by 97.8%.