PEOPLE helping each other -- No AI, no cost, no reg'n, no damn popups
(As an Amazon Associate & eBay Partner we earn from qualifying purchases)

Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET

finishing.com -- The Home Page of the Finishing Industry

  The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing 1989-2025

-----

Aluminum plating solution

Q. Hi I am trying to electroplate aluminum metal into the pores of alumina. Can I get a ready-made aluminum plating solution?

Phaneendra Medida
Drexel University - Philadelphia ,PA,USA
2002

A. Hi Phaneendra. Aluminum is too active a metal to electroplate in the conventional sense (out of an aqueous plating bath), so no such solutions are available.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2002

Q. If you could please explain what you mean by aluminum being too active of a metal for conventional plating methods I would appreciate it.

Thank You

Bobby Lineberry
- Elizabeth City North Carolina USA
2006

Metals range from very noble (wanting to come out of solution / stay out of solution / stay metallic), like gold and platinum, to very active (wanting to remain in solution, combined with other materials), like sodium.

When a highly active metal is dissolved in a water-based (aqueous) solution and you try to electroplate it out, all that will happen is the water will separate into hydrogen and oxygen (or hydroxide). You'll reduce hydrogen from H+ to H (actually H2, hydrogen gas) before you will be able to reduce Al++ to aluminum (metal).

It is possible to electroplate aluminum out of molten salts, and organic solutions in an oxygen-free environment, but that doesn't sound like an answer to Phaneedra's situation.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2006

(No "dead threads" here! If this page isn't currently on the Hotline your Q, A, or Comment will restore it)

Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread

Disclaimer: It's not possible to fully diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The internet is largely anonymous & unvetted; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations might be harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories: