Title: Electroplating

Objective:

 To understand the principles of the electroplating process.

 To use electroplating to plate copper onto a metal object such as a nail

Theory:

Electroplating involves passing an electric current through a solution called an electrolyte. This
is done by dipping two terminals called electrodes into the electrolyte and connecting them
into a circuit with a battery or other power supply. The electrodes and electrolyte are made
from carefully chosen elements or compounds. When the electricity flows through the circuit
they make, the electrolyte splits up and some of the metal atoms it contains are deposited in a
thin layer on top of one of the electrodes—it becomes electroplated. All kinds of metals can be
plated in this way, including gold, silver, tin, zinc, copper, cadmium, chromium, nickel, platinum,
and lead.

Electroplating is very similar to electrolysis (using electricity to split up a chemical solution),

which is the reverse of the process by which batteries produce electric currents. All these things
are examples of electrochemistry: chemical reactions caused by or producing electricity that
give scientifically or industrially useful end-products.

Types of Electroplating

1. Mass plating

Mass plating is one of the types of electroplating that is used to plate a large volume of
components in little to no time. To perform mass plating, a barrel is loaded with parts and then
placed inside a container, which is filled with the coating material. Following this, the barrel is
rotated to ensure that all the components inside the barrel are evenly coated for protection from
corrosion. Mass plating is one of the most common types of electroplating and is one of the
processes with the maximum applications. However, the mass plating process also brings parts
in contact with one another, which can create an adverse effect on the coatings. So, another
electroplating process can be used for components that require a high degree of aesthetic
appeal.

Following are the common examples of parts or components that undergo these types of
electroplating:

 Bolts
 Nuts
 Screws
 Washers
 Pins
  Electrical Connectors

2. Rack plating

Rack plating is used to electroplate large, complex, and brittle parts that are tough to plate using
other methods. In this process, parts are mounted to a “rack” and then immersed in a plating
solution. This method provides uniform distribution of coating since the rack holds different parts
that are plated at the same time. These types of electroplating processes are common in
aluminum and zinc, and chrome and nickel are commonly used as plating solutions. Shape, size,
and quantity of the parts must be considered before settling on this process.

3. Continuous plating

In continuous plating items like tubes, wires, and strips are plated by running them continuously
through a plating solution, one after the other. This process involves the even distribution of the
coating material, such as zinc, aluminum, or tin, onto a metal like steel. It helps to enhance the
corrosion resistance, appearance, wear, or other properties of a metal. Continuous plating
provides even distribution of the coating and the electric current.

Figure 1.0 Electroplating of the iron nail (cathode) by copper (anode).

Faraday’s law for electroplating process:

Faraday’s first law

The amount of the deposited material is directly proportional to the amount of electric charge,
passed through the circuit.

Since amount of electric charge Q=I*t (I – electric current, t – time), then the Faraday’s law may
be expressed by the formula:

𝑬𝑸
.𝒎= 𝑭

Where: m- the mass deposited at the electrode

E- Equivalent weight (E=M/n; n is the total valence electron and M is the molar mass of
the depositing material)
F- Faraday’s constant (96500C/mole)
Apparatus and Chemicals

Apparatus:

 Iron nail (Cathode)

 Copper strip (Anode)
 9V battery
 100ml beaker
 Uninsulated copper wire
 Insulated wire leads with alligator clips at both ends
 Electric balance

Chemicals:

 Electrolyte solution- 1M CuSO4

Procedures:

1. The nail was first polished with some steel wool (for good results). And the mass of the nail was
measured using the electric balance and its value was recorded.
2. One end of the black alligator clip was attached to the copper wire connected to the nail and the
other end was connected to the NEGATIVE post of the battery (power source).
3. Again one end of the black alligator clip was attached to the copper wire connected to the
copper strip (10.2561gram) and the other end was connected to the POSTIVE post of the battery
(power source). And the copper strip was placed into the empty 100ml beaker.
4. The CUSO4 solution was poured into the beaker until it was about two-thirds full (75ml). And
the entire nail was submerged completely.
5. The redox reaction inside the beaker was allowed to continue for about 10 minutes.
 6. The electroplated nail mass measured using the electric balance. The values was recorded as
well.

Observation:

We have observed that the plated copper on the iron nail can be easily removed. So we have make sure
that we didn’t touch the plated copper before we measure the mass of the nail plated.

Result and Discussion:

The data collected for this experiment is presented in the following table.

Mass of the nail (before 0.8618 gram

electroplating)
Mass of the nail (after 0.8679 gram
electroplating)
Mass of the copper strip 10.2561 gram

So the amount of copper plated on the iron nail is determined as:

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑

= (𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔
− 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔)
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 = (0.8679𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 − 0.8618𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚) = 0.0061 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚
We can understand that 0.0061 gram of the copper strip was plated on the iron nail through the
electrochemical electrolytic process.

The reaction that takes place at the anode of the electrolytic cell is an oxidation reaction. And the anode
half-reaction is given as:
2+
𝐶𝑢(𝑠) → 𝐶𝑢(𝑎𝑞) + 2𝑒 −

The reduction half reaction occurs at the cathode electrode and the half-reaction is shown as
follows:
2+
𝐶𝑢(𝑎𝑞) + 2𝑒 → 𝐶𝑢(𝑠)

The whole electroplating of the iron nail with copper is explained below:
In this experiment, the copper strip at the anode was used to plate the iron nail at the cathode
using an electrolysis process. At the anode the copper oxidases and releases electrons where
these electrons travel through copper wire to the cathode in which the copper ions from the
electrolyte solutions (CUSO4) deposits at the cathode (reduction) using the electrons from the
anode. And the copper strip dissolves to replenish the metal ions in the solution.
According to the Faraday’s first law, the mass deposited at the electrode is directly proportional
to the electrical charge passed through the cell.
 𝐸𝑄
i.e. 𝑚 = 𝐹

𝑀∗𝐼∗𝑡
𝑚=
𝑛∗𝐹
𝑚∗𝑛∗𝐹
𝐼=
𝑀∗𝑡
The amount of current flowing through the electrolytic cell can be calculated as follows:
0.0061𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚 ∗ 2 ∗ 96500(𝐴. 𝑠/𝑚𝑜𝑙)
𝐼= 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑚
63.54 ( ) ∗ (10 ∗ 60)𝑠
𝑚𝑜𝑙
1177.3𝐴
𝐼= = 0.030881𝐴
38124
So current of 0.031 ampere was flowing to produce a 0.0061 gram of copper deposit on the iron nail.

Conclusion:

We have concluded the following key points as follows:

 A mass of 0.0061 gram of copper was able plated on the iron nail using current of 0.031 ampere
or 31mA.
 Oxidation of the copper strip at the anode has released electrons that were used by the copper
ions (of the electrolyte, CUSO4) on the cathode (iron nail).
 Generally electroplating is a very essential electrochemical process that has a greater
contribution in areas of corrosion prevention, improving appearances and etc.