Electroplating

Louie Villaverde

Main part
Definition Objectives Preparing of surface Parameters Electroplating process Advantages and disadvantages

Definition of Electroplating
Electroplating is a plating process in which metal ions in a solution are moved by an electric field to coat an electrode.

Objective of Electroplating
Prevent corrosion Obtain a hard surface or attractive finish

Purify metals
Separate metals for quantitative analysis
E.g.: Cadmium, chromium, copper, gold, nickel,

silver, and tin.

Preparing the Surface

1st step: cleaning
nd 2

step: treatment

rd 3

step: rinsing

Preparing the Surface

Chemical cleaning

Physical cleaning

Parameters

Current primary parameter which affects plating thickness basic rule: higher current, thicker plating at a fixed time Time longer plating time, thicker plating Temperature affects how fast the plating reaction will occur too low temp may reduce the capability of the bath to handle higher current, may cause burnt plating, may reduce rate of plating too high temp will affect brightener performance which could result to brittle copper plating

How electroplating is done

Preparation
Cathode made of copper or steel ; Anode made of Nickel Blue wire attached to the Cathode and

negative pole of battery

Red wire attached to the Anode and positive pole of battery The cell filled with an Electrolyte containing NiCl2

Process
The NiCl2 ionizes into water NiCl2 --> Ni2+ + 2Cl The object is negatively charged -> attracts Ni2+ and gives up electrons The nickel atom will be deposited on the surface of the part being coated

-> Electrodeposition

Faradays laws
Electroplating is based on Faradays laws of electrolysis:

1st : the mass of a substance liberated in electrolysis is proportional to the quantity of electricity passed through the cell
2nd : the mass of the material liberated is proportional to its electrochemical equivalent.
The amount of nickel that would have been electroplated is proportional to the number of electrons the battery provides

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages
Variety of Uses
A wide range and size of items
conductor parts - printing rolls insides of wires and tubes

A wide range, shape and sizes of decorative applications

jewelry, watches, optical frames and writing instruments

Advantages
Advantages
Coatings: nickel, copper and chromium
not react with porcelain enamels and electrical connections not change the fundamental nature of their base metal.

Advantages
Advantages
Safety
Rigid specifications promulgated by governmental bodies, local associations and international standardization (ISO)
how to perform coatings safety standards to maintain equipment to use based on experience and experts opinion

Disadvantages
Disadvantages
Coatings

working on a molecular level thin coat If repeat it over and over again time consuming and expensive
Sometimes be lumpy and uneven often grind and machine the parts

Uniformity

Disadvantages
Disadvantages
Brittleness
Electroplating a good coating of a superior metal onto a lesser metal => coating often be brittle and easy to crack Micro-crack may lead to the overall destruction of the electroplated layer electroplate multiple layers

References
http://www.ehow.com/search.html?q=advant ages+of+electroplating&skin=home http://www.ehow.com/list_6850757_electroly tic-plating-advantages.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroplating