1952_VEDANT PATIL

Engineering Chemistry

EXPERIMENT NO. 7

Electroplating
Aim :- To coat copper on iron article using electroplating.

Apparatus :- Beaker, glass rod, spatula, 1.5 V battery, connecting wires, alligator clips,
sandpaper etc.

Chemicals :- CuSO4, copper strip, iron object/strip.

Theory :- Corrosion is a spontaneous process of degradation metals by its reaction

with the surrounding environmental constituents, occurring at the surface of metal. The
process of corrosion can be inhibited by several ways, i.e. by using protective methods or
by having metallic or non metallic coatings. The metallic or non-metallic coating obtained
on the metals surface limits the contact of metal surface with the surrounding constituents
responsible for corrosion and ultimately prevents the metal from corrosion.
In order to protect a metal from corrosion, various metal coating techniques have been
adopted like hot dipping, cladding, spraying, cementation and electroplating etc.
Electroplating is the process of metallic coating in which base metal is coated with the
coating metal by use of electrolysis principle. Electroplating method depends upon:
1. the type of metal to be electroplated,
2. the size and type of articles to be electroplated,
3. its main objectives and
4. economics involved.
Plating tanks of various sizes along with some fixtures are employed. Some of the fixtures
used are 1) jigs or rock mountings for large scale electroplating of routine articles, 2)
barrel plating for large number of small articles; 3) individual mountings for electroplating
of a single, large parts like car part or computer frames, etc.and 4) wire mounting.
Electroplating is the electrodeposition of coating metal on the base metal with the help of
electric current. In the process of electroplating base metal is made cathode by connecting
it to –ve terminal of the D.C. battery, while coating metal is made anode by connecting it
to +ve terminal of the battery. Anode and cathode are immersed in the electrolytic solution
containing ions of coating metal (in case of copper coating CuSO4solution is used as
electrolytic solution). The container containing electrolytic solution is called as plating
bath. The ingredients of a plating bath have one or more of the following functions:
● Provide a source of the metal or metals being deposited.
● Form complexes with irons of the deposition metal.
● Provide conductivity and stabilized the solution against hydrolysis and other
reactions.
● Act as a buffer to stabilise the pH 5.
● Modify other properties either of the solution or of the deposit for specific cases.
● Aid in dissolution of the anode.
1952_VEDANT PATIL

During electroplating pH of the bath is strictly maintained. Lower pH leads to high

conductivity and increases evolution of Hydrogen gas at cathode forming burnt deposits,
while high pH leads to delayed plating and forms uneven and thick deposits.
During the process, the anode undergoes oxidation and goes into electrolytic solution in
the cationic state, the cations of coating metal travels to cathode through electrolytic
solution and gets deposited on the cathode by accepting the electrons. Hence, plating is an
oxidation and reduction reaction. The concentration of coating cation in the electrolytic
solution is maintained by oxidation of anodic metal.
The base metal surface has to be prepared for obtaining good coating quality that can be
achieved by using mechanical or chemical treatment of metal surface. The metallic
coating obtained by the process of electroplating prevents the base metal from corrosion as
well as it gives good appearance to base metal. Hence electroplating is also carried out on
decorative article. Non-metallic materials can also be electroplated by the process of
electroplating with the help of graphite.
REACTIONS:
At anode: Cu → Cu2+ + 2e- (Oxidation)
At cathode: Cu2+ + 2e- → Cu (Reduction)
Purpose and applications of Electroplating
Electroplating is frequently used for industrial purposes, either for decoration or to help
components function more efficiently. It is a kind of metal finishing. The purpose of
electroplating an article are for:
1) Improving appearance
2) Increasing protection
3) Special surface properties
4) Engineering or mechanical properties
The applications of electroplating are as follows:
1) steel parts on automobiles are often plated with Chrome to help them resist corrosion.
2) Steel and aluminium components in light fixtures are coated with nickel and either
chromium or brass to enhance their appearance.
3) Steel bolts are coated with zinc and cadmium to help them last longer, and copper and
brass connectors are often plated with silver to prevent tarnishing and increase
conductivity.
For detailed industrial electroplating method refer the books mentioned in the reference
section.

Diagram :-
1952_VEDANT PATIL

CuSO4

Procedure :- Prepare 1 M CuSO4 solution

1. Clean the iron object with the help of sand paper
2. Clean the coating metal strip
3. Take 1 M CuSO4 solution in 250 ml beaker
4. Place the iron object and coating metal strip in the plating solution making sure
that they do not touch.
5. Connect iron object to negative terminal of battery with the help of alligator
clip(cathode)
6. Connect coating metal strip to negative terminal of battery with the help of
alligator clip (anode)
7. After five minutes, disconnect the electrodes from the battery and remove the
stainless steel object from the plating solution.

Result :- Iron article(key) is coated with copper.