US225186A - Metallizing fibrous - Google Patents

Description

. R. WAITZ. I Metallizing Fibrous, Cellular, and Porous Substances No. 225,l86. Patnt ed Mar. 2, I880.

Wilqesseas lrp/Eqlqr- I UNI.TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I RICHARD WAITZ, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ME'TALLIZING; Flen'ou's, CELLULAR, ANo' POROUS SUBSTANCES.

srncrrrcur'ron forming part or Letters Patent No. 225,186, dated March 2, 1880.

' Application filed December 19, 1 878.

To all whom it maypoacemi Be it' known thatl, RICHARD WAITZ, of

' Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachu- I setts, have invented an Improvement in Metallizing Substances'having a Fibrous, Cellular,

or Porous Nature, of which the following de,

scriptiom'in connection with the accompany-' 1 mg draw ng, is a specification. v e

' This-invention relates to certain modes and processes of orfoxjincorporating with organic, cellular, fibrous, or porous substancesor coating or covering such substances witha metal,

' to tberebyimprove the durability of the said substances, lessenitheir liability to become decayed, increase their water-repellent qualities,

- and lessen their-liability to be bored by worms,

&c., in salt-water, and to make a suitable base whereby any of the said substances may be -further coatedwith'any'metal capable of beor less pure metallic state, from their compounds, by means of a salt of a metal having a .greatcr 'aflinity' for the acid combined with the metals. to be deposited than the latter have. It also consists in a process of plating upon wood or similar substancesof a fibrous, cellular, or porous structure adapted to receive a continuous coating of metal, by, first metalliz ing said substances or depositing metal in a finely-divided state in and upon the pores and fibers thereof, and i then 'depositin g thereon a solid continuouscoating of metal, which at taches itself firmly-to the, metal first-dep'os ited.. I e

It further consists in wood or similar sub stance of fibrous, cellular, or porous struct-- are having a firm continuous coating of metal upon its surface, and also having metal depos; ited [or incorporated in the fibers and pores:

.' thereof and firmly united with thc surface-coat-' ing.

The materials or bodies preferably used by me in connection with my invention, as herein described, are wood, paper. leather, or similar substances.

My invention for impregnatingor coating any of these organic substances or bodies hereinbefore mentioned with a metal separated from itssalt may be carried out or practiced in several ways, which, by experiment,

. I have found practicable to an eminent degree, and among which are the following, they being the best ways now known to me, viz: First, the organic fibrous, cellular, or porous body or material to be metallizcd may be coated with or be immersed in a Solutionof salt of one'metal, (the desired metal,) and thenin a solution of a salt of a different metal, care being taken to use in the first solution-an acid which has more affinity for the second metal than for that with which it was first combined.

The acid of the first solution will be taken up by the second, and the metal of the first solution will be left in or upon ,thefibrous, cellular, or porous substance or body treated, and the depth of penetration of the free metal so left into the body of the substance treated may be made more or less, accordingas the substance is treated or immersed in a vacuumchamber, or under pressure, or aided by heat or, second, the fibrous, cellular, or porous body to he treated may be immersed in a s0- lution'of a salt of one metal, and in water may be subjected to the action ofi a piece of metal which has more affiuity for the mineral metal, where it will ;act to take the mineral acid from the said salt of metal, leaving upon .or invtlie substance being treated free metal,

-myin vention, to impregnate or coat, say, the substance wood with -metallic silver.

The wood willbe immersed in or brushed over with asolution of nitrate of silver, and, preferably after being dried, it will be coated with'wor immersed in a solution of sulphate of Honor chloride of tin, which sulphate or chloride will, by reason of its stronger affinity for acid employed in creating the first salt of IOC ' glish Patent No. 1,274, for the year 1857, proposed to silversilk, wool, &c., and mentioned wood and many other substances of a fibrous or porous structure.

Becker described substantially the following process, viz: He proposed, first, to immerse the substance in a solution of gallic acid,

after which the substance was to be allowed to drain or dry; second, the substance was then dipped fora second in a solution of twenty parts of nitrate of silver in one thousand partsof distilled water, and this alternate dipping into the two-flnidsand draining was to be continued until the blackened appearance of the material was followed by a light silver tinge,

.when the substaucewas to be immersed in a compound fluid, as follows: first, caustic lime, grape-sugar, and racemic acid, (or, instead of racemic acid, carbonic oxide of soda or potassium or gallic acid,) and distilled water; and, second. nitrate of silver, liquid ammonia, and distilled water, the two fluids before use being proposed to boil the said substances being silto be impregnated by the metal of the metallic salt. It. would fail to producean adhereutor vered 'in a solution of salts of tartar and water.

' The said Becker process diflers materially from my process, and would not permit the surface or body of the substance being treated continuous metallized surface, or such a metallized surface as could be practically electroplated.

I claim- 1. The process of inetallizing substances of consists in impregnating or coating the sub stance with asalt' of the desired metal, and then depositing the latter in a metallic state (more or less pure) in and upon the pores and fibers by means of a metal or salt of a metal, substantially as described. v t

2. The process of plating upon wood or simi; lar substance of a fibrous, cellular, or porons structure adapted to receive a con tin nous coating of metal, which consists in first depositingmetal, in afinely-divided state, in and upon the pores and fibers of the substance to be.

plated, and then depositing there'on, by gal- -vanic action or electrolysis, a solid continuous coating of metal, which attaches itself firmly to-the metal first deposited, snbstantiallyas described.

- 3. Wood or similar substance of fibrous, cellular, 0i porous structure having afirm continuous coating of metal upon its surface, and also ha ing metal deposited in the fibers and pores thereof and united firmly with the surface-coating, substantially as described. thoroughly'mixed and filtered, and then it was In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD WAlTZ.

Witnesses 4 G. W. Gaseous, N. E. WHITNEY a fibrous, cellular, or porousstructure, which I

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