US2443600A - Electroplating method and electrolyte - Google Patents

Electroplating method and electrolyte Download PDF

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Publication number
US2443600A
US2443600A US767859A US76785947A US2443600A US 2443600 A US2443600 A US 2443600A US 767859 A US767859 A US 767859A US 76785947 A US76785947 A US 76785947A US 2443600 A US2443600 A US 2443600A
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United States
Prior art keywords
bath
carbonate
alkaline
gluconate
cyanide
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Expired - Lifetime
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US767859A
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English (en)
Inventor
Allan E Chester
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Poor and Co
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Poor and Co
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Publication date
Priority to FR960115D priority Critical patent/FR960115A/fr
Application filed by Poor and Co filed Critical Poor and Co
Priority to US767859A priority patent/US2443600A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US2443600A publication Critical patent/US2443600A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C25ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25DPROCESSES FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PRODUCTION OF COATINGS; ELECTROFORMING; APPARATUS THEREFOR
    • C25D3/00Electroplating: Baths therefor
    • C25D3/02Electroplating: Baths therefor from solutions

Definitions

  • This invention relates to improved electroplating baths, and more particularly to an alkaline cyanide bath or electrolyte for use in electroplating metallic surfaces at high current densities.
  • the prior art has suggested the use of calcium sulfate to control the amount of sodium carbonate formed during an electrodeposition from cyanide plating baths. This material has been added from time to time as the carbonate content has grown sufficiently high to prove harmful to the deposit or deposition rate. Brighten-- ing agents have also been added in separate operations.
  • One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a single additive composition which will control carbonate content in cyanide plating baths, improve the appearance and brightness of the plate, improve the cathode eiiiciency appreciably, and improve the throwing power of the bath.
  • Another object is to provide an electroplating bath or solution containing a substantially insoluble addition agent or additive composition which will plate fine-grained ductile deposits rapidly in a still tank.
  • Still a further object is to provide a plating solution containing the aforesaid substantially insoluble addition agent which may be advantageously used with an ordinary plating source of direct current voltage, but which is especially useful with plating currents of abnormal wave form such as are obtained by superimposing an alternating current component on a direct current component.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide an alkaline zinc cyanide plating bath which will produce bright adherent metal deposits of good quality at high electroplating rates, and in which the carbonate concentration and polarization are reduced.
  • alkaline cyanide plating baths preferably zinc, cadmium or copper cyanide plating baths
  • a gluconate of an alkali metal which is slightly soluble in the cyanide plating solution and is reactive with soluble carbonates to form still more insoluble carbonates.
  • a gluconate of an alkali metal which is slightly soluble in the cyanide plating solution and is reactive with soluble carbonates to form still more insoluble carbonates.
  • a gluconate of an alkali metal which is slightly soluble in the cyanide plating solution and is reactive with soluble carbonates to form still more insoluble carbonates.
  • gluconate compositions containing both calcium and barium as obtained, for example, by blending barium hydroxide and calcium gluconate.
  • the gluconate composition may function to accomplish one or more objects of the invention, depending to some extent upon the quantity used, but good results are obtained with relatively small quantities.
  • Example I An alkaline zinc cyanide bath was prepared by mixing together grams of sodium cyanide, 45 grams of zinc oxide, 15 grams of sodium hydroxide, and enough water to make a liter of solution.
  • the lauryl sulfate may be considered to be a wetting agent, reduc ing the surface tension and producing better deposits.
  • the calcium gluconate acts as a control agent for controlling the action and performance of the bath.
  • Example II A composition was prepared by blending together 99 pounds of barium hydroxide ground to 60 mesh and one pound of calcium gluconate.
  • This composition was incorporated in alkaline cyanide plating baths with agitation.
  • baths are typical plating baths to which the addition agent can be added:
  • any of the baths A, B and C as little as of calcium gluconate or the equivalent quantity of the barium hydroxide calcium gluconate composition may be added to the bath.
  • the plating bath will tolerate a certain amount of sodium carbonate; hence, when the electrolyte is new it can be run for some time without adding .any of the gluconate composition for the specific purpose of controlling the carbonate content of the bath.
  • any of the gluconate composition for the specific purpose of controlling the carbonate content of the bath.
  • the carbonate content builds up to as much as 4: ounces of sodium carbonate per gallon of bath, it will usually be desirable toadd an amount of the gluconate composition effective to reduce the carbonate content.
  • the gluoonate composition can be added initially or in increments from the very beginning in order to keep the bath frombuilding up an undesirable carbonate content, and at the same time to improve the performance of the bath in other respects as previously described.
  • the present invention may be applied to the electroplating of work employing an aqueous bath containing dissolved salts of the plating metal and an anode, and wherein the work is the cathode and bath soluble carbonates are formed during the electroplating operation, and the plating current applied to the cathode with respect to the anode is a pulsating direct current voltage whose instantaneous value is always positive.
  • the soluble carbonate content of alkaline aqueous cyanide electroplating baths can be controlled by taking the bath out of operation, cooling it and crystallizing out the carbonates.
  • This procedure has several disadvantages, including the one that the bath must be taken out of operation for a substantial period of time.
  • Another suggested way of controlling the carbonate content of the bath is to add calcium sulfate thereto in order to precipitate calcium carbonate.
  • This method also has several disadvantages, one of them being that the reaction between the calcium sulfate and the soluble carbonates form soluble sulfates which are often more objectionable than the soluble carbonates.
  • the reaction products which are left in the bath after the precipitation of the insoluble calcium carbonate are beneficial to the bath and actually increase the cathode efficiency.
  • Another practical aspect of this invention is that the insoluble gluconates are relatively easy to filter as compared, for example, to calcium sulfate.
  • the operation with the present process is a relatively simple one as compared to the previously proposed use of calcium sulfate.
  • An alkaline aqueous cyanide plating bath electrolyte containing in solution a plating metal which forms complex cyanides and calcium gluconate, said electrolyte normally tending to form a bath soluble alkaline carbonate during electrodeposition of the plating metal and the quantity of said gluconate therein being effective to react with and precipitate said bath soluble carbonate as an insoluble carbonate.
  • An alkaline aqueous zinc cyanide plating bath containing an alkaline earth metal gluconate said bath being characterized by the formation of a bath soluble alkaline carbonate therein during an electroplating operation and the quantity of said gluconate being effective to react with and precipitate said bath soluble carbonate as a carbonate insoluble in the bath.
  • An alkaline aqueous cadmium cyanide plating bath containing an alkaline earth metal gluconate said bath being characterized by the formation of a bath soluble alkaline carbonate therein during an electroplating operation and the quantity of said gluconate being effective to react with and precipitate said bath soluble carbonate as a carbonate insoluble in the bath.
  • An alkaline aqueous copper cyanide plating bath containing an alkaline earth metal gluconate said bath being characterized by the formation of a bath soluble alkaline carbonate therein during an electroplating operation and the quantity of said gluconate being effective to react with and precipitate said bath soluble carbonate as a carbonate insoluble in the bath.
  • An alkaline aqueous cyanide plating bath containing in solution a plating metal which forms complex cyanides and wherein a bath soluble alkaline carbonate is formed during an electroplating operation, and containing partially in solution an alkaline earth metal gluconate in a minimum amount of at least 1 6% by wei ht o the bath.
  • the method of obtaining rapid clean deposition which consists in applying to the cathode with respect to the anode a pulsating direct current voltage whose instantaneous value is always positive, and maintaining calcium gluconate as an addition agent in suspension in said bath, the quantity of said calcium gluconate being effective to react with and precipitate said bath soluble carbonates as insoluble calcium carbonate.
  • the step which comprises electrodepositing zinc from an aqueous sodium cyanid-zinc plating bath in the presence of calcium gluconate, the quantity of calcium gluconate being effective to react with sodium carbonate formed during the electroplating operation and to precipitate the carbonate as insoluble calcium carbonate.
  • the method of obtaining rapid deposition and controlling carbonate ion concentration in the bath which consists in applying to the cathode with respect to the anode a pulsating direct current voltage Whose instantaneous value is always positive, the lowest instantaneous value of said pulsating voltage at the negative alternating peak being between 0.5 volt and 1.5 volts, and maintaining in suspension in said alkaline zinc bath calcium gluconate in an amount of at least 10 grams per liter, said direct current component having a voltage not substantially higher than 24 volts and said alternating current component having a frequency within the range of from about 25 to cycles, inclusive.
  • the method of obtaining rapid depositon which consists in applying to the cathode with respect to the anode a pulsating direct current voltage whose instantaneous value is always positive, the lowest instantaneous value of said pulsating voltage at the negative alternating peak being between 0.5 volt and 1.5 volts, and maintaining calcium gluconate in suspension in said bath, the quantity of calcium gluconate being effective to react with sodium carbonate formed during the electroplating operation and to precipitate the carbonate as insoluble calcium carbonate.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Metallurgy (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Electroplating And Plating Baths Therefor (AREA)
US767859A 1947-08-09 1947-08-09 Electroplating method and electrolyte Expired - Lifetime US2443600A (en)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR960115D FR960115A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1947-08-09
US767859A US2443600A (en) 1947-08-09 1947-08-09 Electroplating method and electrolyte

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US767859A US2443600A (en) 1947-08-09 1947-08-09 Electroplating method and electrolyte

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US2443600A true US2443600A (en) 1948-06-22

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FR (1) FR960115A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2479670A (en) * 1944-03-20 1949-08-23 Poor & Co Electroplating baths and method for the electrodeposition of zinc
US2548867A (en) * 1945-04-14 1951-04-17 Poor & Co Electroplating metals
US2730490A (en) * 1951-11-13 1956-01-10 Wire Coating And Mfg Co Process of zinc coating magnesium articles
US2916423A (en) * 1957-06-19 1959-12-08 Metal & Thermit Corp Electrodeposition of copper and copper alloys
US3084112A (en) * 1960-07-29 1963-04-02 Allied Res Products Inc Process and composition for electroplating copper
US3219560A (en) * 1961-10-12 1965-11-23 Allied Res Products Inc Process and bath for electrolytic copper deposition
US3257841A (en) * 1961-03-08 1966-06-28 Jr Samuel C Lawrence Paint stripping system
US3294655A (en) * 1963-11-04 1966-12-27 Lancy Lab Zinc and cadmium electroplating
JPS5030745A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1973-07-21 1975-03-27

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US694658A (en) * 1900-12-11 1902-03-04 Jules Meurant Electrolytic process.
US1388874A (en) * 1920-02-18 1921-08-30 Ralph D Mershon Forming dielectric films
US1755479A (en) * 1924-04-28 1930-04-22 Jones W Bart Ett Method of and means for cyclic current control
US1918605A (en) * 1928-01-09 1933-07-18 Parker Rust Proof Co Chromium plating
GB414939A (en) * 1933-11-22 1934-08-16 Max Schlotter Improved process for electro-deposition of chromium
US2063760A (en) * 1931-09-10 1936-12-08 Schulein Joseph Bath for and process of electrodeposition of metal

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US694658A (en) * 1900-12-11 1902-03-04 Jules Meurant Electrolytic process.
US1388874A (en) * 1920-02-18 1921-08-30 Ralph D Mershon Forming dielectric films
US1755479A (en) * 1924-04-28 1930-04-22 Jones W Bart Ett Method of and means for cyclic current control
US1918605A (en) * 1928-01-09 1933-07-18 Parker Rust Proof Co Chromium plating
US2063760A (en) * 1931-09-10 1936-12-08 Schulein Joseph Bath for and process of electrodeposition of metal
GB414939A (en) * 1933-11-22 1934-08-16 Max Schlotter Improved process for electro-deposition of chromium

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2479670A (en) * 1944-03-20 1949-08-23 Poor & Co Electroplating baths and method for the electrodeposition of zinc
US2548867A (en) * 1945-04-14 1951-04-17 Poor & Co Electroplating metals
US2730490A (en) * 1951-11-13 1956-01-10 Wire Coating And Mfg Co Process of zinc coating magnesium articles
US2916423A (en) * 1957-06-19 1959-12-08 Metal & Thermit Corp Electrodeposition of copper and copper alloys
US3084112A (en) * 1960-07-29 1963-04-02 Allied Res Products Inc Process and composition for electroplating copper
US3257841A (en) * 1961-03-08 1966-06-28 Jr Samuel C Lawrence Paint stripping system
US3219560A (en) * 1961-10-12 1965-11-23 Allied Res Products Inc Process and bath for electrolytic copper deposition
US3294655A (en) * 1963-11-04 1966-12-27 Lancy Lab Zinc and cadmium electroplating
JPS5030745A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1973-07-21 1975-03-27

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FR960115A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1950-04-13

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