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Boron 10 plating options

June 5, 2012

Q. Hi,

Currently I am trying to find out what options I have to plate boron 10 onto aluminum. The piece would be rather small (8 X 8 cm) with no parts going above 32 X 32 cm. The thickness needs to be well controlled and in the 1 µm range. Again, I don't really know what options are out there so a good starting point would be almost as good as the definitive answer.

Thanks

Freddie York
- Oak Ridge, Tennessee

June 15, 2012

A. I have never come across an aqueous process that deposits boron metal, although I am aware of one that deposits it from potassium fluoborate dissolved in a molten salt bath of potassium fluoride and potassium chloride. You may also want to consider PVD or CVD deposition, or even sputtering.I know boron is co-deposited with other metals, such as nickel, when using electroless nickel with a boron additive such as sodium borohydride as the reducing agent.

Trevor Crichton
R&D practical scientist
Chesham, Bucks, UK

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