TECHNICAL DATA SHEET

NICKEL SULPHAMATE
Nickel Sulphamate is offered as a purified concentrate; which has been treated to remove both organic and
inorganic impurities. It contains no addition agents; therefore it may be used as a base for a new nickel
sulphamate bath, or merely to replenish the nickel content of an existing nickel sulphamate solution.
Nickel Sulphamate offers several advantages over the nickel plating baths.
1.
It is capable of producing stress free deposits than other nickel plating baths.
2.

It produces ductile fine grained hard deposit.

3.

It operates at a high rate of deposition.

4.

It is a concentrated liquid.

5.
6.

It may be operated at high current densities.

It has a very high cathode efficiency.

7.

Its deposit has high tensile strength.

APPLICATIONS
1.
2.

Electroforming.
Electrotypes and stereotypes.

3.

Manufacture of sieves for sugar refining.

4.

Electronic components.

5.

Roller coating.

6.

Rebuilding of worn parts.

7.

Jet Engine overhaul.

Typical analysis of the Nickel Sulphamate concentrate :

Nickel Sulphamate

550 g/l

Nickel (as metal)

100 g/l

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
Specific gravity

..

1.30 - 1.34

Density

..

33 - 35 OBe

Colour

..

Green

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PREPARATION OF CONVENTIONAL BATH

A 100 litre Bath requires :
Nickel Sulphamate conc.

..

75.0 litres

Nickel Chloride

..

1.5 kgs.

Boric Acid

..

3 kgs.

Water

..

To make 100 ltrs.

Antipit A/P No. 2

..

0.01 to 2 g/l

Cathode movement

..

2-10 gms

COMPOSITION OF THE CONVENTIONAL BATH

Optimum

Range

Nickel (as metal)

g/l

75

75-100

Nickel Chloride
Boric Acid

g/l
g/l

15
30

15-30
26-35

OPERATING CONDITIONS
Density

...

29-31 OBe

Temperature
pH

...
...

40-50 OC
3.5 to 4.5

Current density

...

2.0 to 8.0 amps/dm2

Anodes

...

Bagged, S-Nickel/Pallets in titanium baskets

Anode to Cathode Ratio

...

1:1

Voltage

...

2 to 8

AVERAGE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE DEPOSIT FROM NICKEL SULPHAMATE, BROMIDE

BATH :
Tensile strength

...

103,000 PSI

Internal stress

...

500 to 8000 PSI

Hardness

...

170 to 300 VHN (12 to 21 Rockwell)

NOTES ON OPERATING PROCEDURES

Bath purification and adjustment :
After make-up, the bath should be carbon treated and dummied, using a corrugated Cathode. The dummying
should be conducted 5 amps/sq. ft. at Anode and Cathode and should be continued until a uniform plate
is achieved in both low and high current density areas. A practical method is to treat overnight.
For proper conditioning of Sulphamate bath, it is preferable to electrolyze the solution further at
5 amp/sq. ft, anode 40 amps/sq. ft. cathode for minimum of 30 Ahr/litre or till such time the deposit
is stress free.
It is desirable to have continuous dummy treatment at 5 amp/sq. ft. The pH should be checked and if
found to be over 4.5, small additions of sulphamic acid should be made until it is in the 3.5 to 4.5 range.
It it is found to be only slightly under 3.5 it would not be necessary to make an adjustment because of
the tendency of the pH to rise in normal operation; if it is found for some reason to be considerably below
3, then a powder of nickel carbonate placed in a polypropylene filter bag should be suspended until the
desired pH is obtained.

NICKEL SULPHAMATE

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Filtration Agitation :
For best results the bath should be subjected to constant filtration of about 3-4 changes/hr. This will serve
a two fold purpose of cleaning the bath and affording the solution the agitation it requires to assure uniform
deposits.

ROLE OF BATH COMPONENTS

Nickel Sulphamates :
Nickel Sulphamate furnishes nickel ions and sulphamate ions to the bath. The Sulphamate ions give low
stress characteristics to the deposits.
Nickel Chloride :
One of the primary reasons for plating nickel from a Sulphamate bath is to produce a deposit with low
tensile stress. A pure nickel sulphamate plating solution deposits nickel with little stress, but the anode
corrosion in a pure nickel sulphamate solution is poor. In order to obtain good anode corrosion, nickel
chloride has been added to the sulphamate in concentrations of 15-30 g/l.
Antipit :
Prevents pitting by controlling the surface tension of the solution.
Boric Acid :
Boric Acid buffers and stabilizes the bath.

EFFECT OF VARYING THE OPERATING CONDITIONS ON THE DEPOSITS

Temperature :
Increase the temperature from 25 to 40 OC. Reduces the stress. Above 40 OC the stress increases slightly;
but does not climb appreciably until the temperature rises above 50 OC. Operating temperature lower than
35 OC results in harder deposits.
Current density :
The higher the current density, lower the stress & higher the current density, softer the deposit.
pH :
Optimum pH for low stress is at 4. Below 4 the stress increases slowly at a pH of 5 it rises sharply. The
higher the pH the harder the deposit.
Trouble shooting
Burned deposits :
Low temperature
High current density
Low concentration
Poor agitation
Pitting :
Low Antipit concentration or organic contamination.
Treeing, rough deposits :
pH, out of range - Use sulphamic acid to lower pH, nickel carbonate to raise pH.
Bath dirty / suspended impurities
High current density
Poor agitation
Organic / metallic contamination

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Difficulty in maintainig pH :
Check Boric Acid. Good procedure is to leave an anode bag full of boric acid in the dummying section
of the tank until the boric acid concentration is around 30-35 g/l.
Non-Uniform plate :
Inorganic impurities. Bath should be dummied.
Low rate deposition :
pH low
Current density low
Inorganic impurities
Brittle deposits :
Organic contamination, Carbon treat
pH high.
Equipment :
Tanks
Heaters or heat exchangers
Filters

Approved Rubber lined, Polyethylene, Fibreglass, PVC

Silica / Titanium
Approved Rubber lined, PVC, Polyethylene

Control of Bath :
Density and pH provide most of the answers for daily control. An analytical procedure for nickel, chloride
and boric acid is as follows :ANALYSIS OF THE NICKEL SULPHAMATE BATH
Nickel :
1.
2.
3.
4.

Pipette 2 ml sample of bath.

Add ammonia to deep blue colour.
Add 1 murexide tablet or 3 to 6 drops of saturated solution of murexide.
Titrate with a standard 0.1M solution of disodium EDTA till end point; indicated by a sharp colour
change from green to deep blue.

Calculations :
ml EDTA X 2.934 =

gms/lit. of Nickel

Boric Acid :
1.
2.
3.
4.

Pipette 1 ml sample of bath

Add 5 gms. of Boric Buffer into Erylenmeyer flask.
Add 10 drops of Methyl red.
Titrate with 0.1N Sodium Hydroxide mixing very well to green end point.

Calculations :
ml of Sodium Hydroxide X 6.184

gms/lt of Boric Acid

Chloride determination :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Pipette 5 ml sample of nickel sulphamate solution into a 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask.

Add approximately 100 ml distilled water.
Add 2 ml of glacial acetic acid.
Add 5 drops of Potassium Chromate.
Titrate with 0.1N Silver Nitrate to faint reddish brown.

Calculations :
ml of Silver nitrate X 2.378 = gms/lt of Nickel chloride

NICKEL SULPHAMATE

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DEPOSITION OF NICKEL FROM SULPHAMATE SOLUTION

THICKNESS IN INCHES

Amps/sq.ft.

.0001

.0003

.0005

.0007

.001

.002

10

12

36

60

84

120

240

20
30

6
4

18
12

30
20

42
28

60
40

120
80

40

15

21

30

60

50

2.4

7.2

12.2

16.7

24

47.7

100

1.2

3.6

6.1

8.4

12

24

Issued on : 9.8.04
Supersedes all earlier
NICKEL SULPHAMATE

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