so i've decided to try my hand at reverse electroplating to consolidate my scrap gold before purifying with AR, i figured it would be the easiest way next to nitric acid to isolate the gold. Ive been fingering through the forum looking for ideas for setups and procedure and i think i may have something.
i set up an old car battery charger with a 2/10 amp selector with alligator clips, i have a glass casserole dish, a 8 inch stainless steel rod, and im using drain cleaner made of potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an electrolyte solution and my scrap is gold plated copper pins recovered from commercial grade PCB's, with what appears to be either solder or nickel plating underneath the gold.
my procedure was simple, pour the solution in the dish, select the 10 amps, connect the negative lead to the stainless steel cathode, and the positive lead to the pins on the anode.
now my problem is the anode. for my first attempt, i actually used vinegar as a solution just to experiment the setup, and i used a flattened copper pipe as my anode.
after leaving the cell running overnight, i checked it in the morning and it seemed that somthing had worked. the stainless steel rod was covered in black sludge and there was also residue on the bottom of the dish. but upon closer inspection, the pins were untouched and it looked like i had done nothing more then copper plate the rod. so i cleaned the set up and repeated with a new anode and the KOH as the solution.
for my second anode, i took a 2inch x 5 inch x 1/8 inch copper plate and placed the gold pins on that and repeated the process. however the results were similar, copper plated rod.
for my third run, i switched to a stainless steel shower drain cover, so it made a nice little basket for the pins. however, after leaving this one for a only a half hour or so, i checked the progress and the bottom of the drain had been dissolved and the gold remained untouched.
now i also tested clipping the positive lead directly to a pin and after a minute, the gold had reverse plated, so i know that that method works, but i have over 6 coffee cans full of pins and this would be way too time consuming to do each pin.
so my question is, what type of anode setup should i be using to get the biggest batch i can get with out polluting the recovery as much as possible?
any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated
i set up an old car battery charger with a 2/10 amp selector with alligator clips, i have a glass casserole dish, a 8 inch stainless steel rod, and im using drain cleaner made of potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an electrolyte solution and my scrap is gold plated copper pins recovered from commercial grade PCB's, with what appears to be either solder or nickel plating underneath the gold.
my procedure was simple, pour the solution in the dish, select the 10 amps, connect the negative lead to the stainless steel cathode, and the positive lead to the pins on the anode.
now my problem is the anode. for my first attempt, i actually used vinegar as a solution just to experiment the setup, and i used a flattened copper pipe as my anode.
after leaving the cell running overnight, i checked it in the morning and it seemed that somthing had worked. the stainless steel rod was covered in black sludge and there was also residue on the bottom of the dish. but upon closer inspection, the pins were untouched and it looked like i had done nothing more then copper plate the rod. so i cleaned the set up and repeated with a new anode and the KOH as the solution.
for my second anode, i took a 2inch x 5 inch x 1/8 inch copper plate and placed the gold pins on that and repeated the process. however the results were similar, copper plated rod.
for my third run, i switched to a stainless steel shower drain cover, so it made a nice little basket for the pins. however, after leaving this one for a only a half hour or so, i checked the progress and the bottom of the drain had been dissolved and the gold remained untouched.
now i also tested clipping the positive lead directly to a pin and after a minute, the gold had reverse plated, so i know that that method works, but i have over 6 coffee cans full of pins and this would be way too time consuming to do each pin.
so my question is, what type of anode setup should i be using to get the biggest batch i can get with out polluting the recovery as much as possible?
any help on the matter would be greatly appreciated
