So I have been playing around with 2 20 gram copper rods as I put them in the anode and cathode. I'm trying to create some electroplating solution. The anode obviously is corroding but I was thinking maybe If I alternate the rods on the anode and cathode so that they do not completely corrode out quickly. Will this allow me to use them for a long time and continue to make solutions?
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Bullion.Forum
Electrochemistry Anode corrosion
- Thread starter 13ishmael
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Geo
Well-known member
Why not just buy some copper sulfate. Guaranteed 99% copper sulfate. About $12 for two pounds at Lowe's.
What a country we live in. If you have a registered business the authorities check up on you and test your discharges for, among other things Copper. In NY, I believe the discharge limit is down to 0.6 PPM. But for 12 bucks a homeowner can go to a store and buy 2 pounds of copper sulfate and throw it down the drain to kill roots. How does that make sense?
4metals said:
Haha it doesn't. It's complete hypocrisy but hey there's nothing that can be done about it.
Topher_osAUrus
Well-known member
But, its not copper.. See, the label there says root kill... No mention of poisonous copper anywhere!?!
(sarcasm... Please dont read this and dump your wastes down the drain)
(sarcasm... Please dont read this and dump your wastes down the drain)
Not at all. If both the anodic and cathodic reactions are efficient, when you dissolve a gram of copper you also plate out a gram of copper. In other words, doing what you're doing, you will never build up enough in solution to use as a plating bath13ishmael said:
For decent plating, every solution I know of has 2 things dissolved in it: (1) - A certain amount of the metal being plated added as a chemical compound and, (2) At least 1 and as many as 4 or 5, or more, other chemicals. All of these chemicals must be within a certain range in order to get a satisfactory deposit. All baths should be made up with pure water. Here is a general formulation for an acid copper sulfate matte (smooth but dull) plating bath:
Copper Sulfate - 195-248g/l
Sulfuric Acid - 30-75g/l = 16-40 ml of concentrated H2SO4/liter
Hydrochloric Acid - from 3 to 7 drops from an eyedropper/liter
Pure Copper Anodes
Current Density - from 20 to 100 Amps per square foot of surface area on the parts.
If you want it bright, add about .04g/l of thiourea plus .75g/l of iron-free molasses. There are also commercial brighteners you can buy. Everything has to be kept very clean, since a little contamination can wreck havoc with the deposit quality.
Some characteristics of decent plating - fairly bright, very smooth, with good adhesion (it sticks tight) to the parts. Bad plating is often nodular or spongy, dark, and may easily peel off the parts. Please note that you can obtain a crappy deposit of copper from about any solution you can think of containing copper ions. However, to get a GOOD copper deposit, you must use a proper formula and there are very few of these that have ever been discovered.
All plating baths are very critical as to the quantities (and quality) of their ingredients. You can't just throw anything together and expect it to work. If you really want to plate, find a suitable formula in the plating books, obtain the chemicals (of good quality) you need, and dissolve the correct quantities of these chemicals in pure water. Better still, buy a ready-made solution from a reputable vendor.
