Letter 24028

Electroplating solution problem [California] 

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Hi, I am in 8th grade and I am doing a project on electroplating for a science project. I have tried using a vineger/salt solution to coat copper onto a steel tin but it just rubs off. Is this because the viagar solution is too week to disolve the copper? My main question though is that I need a solution that will work and actually bond to the metal.

Thanks,

Chris Z.
- SF, CA, US

Chris, your problem is probably two-fold. First, how are you preparing the tin? You need to make sure it is clean and (preferably) roughened. Second, with an acetic acid solution, you probably need to first dissolve some copper into the solution prior to plating and watch the temperature and current density.

James Totter, CEF - Tallahassee, FL

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