Summary for alloxan salts Discussion
Aloxan salts in a nickel acetate seal are likely a misspelling or variant of "Alloxan," according to Ted Mooney, who said he had never heard of the term in anodizing specs. In response to Sue Schneider’s question about a Mil-A-8625 Type II Class 2 black seal calling for nickel acetate and Aloxan salts, Ted suggested the material may be part of a proprietary seal formulation. His main advice was not to chase the obscure chemistry too far, but to consider changing the specification because it appears single-sourced and may rely on a poorly understood, possibly toxic process. The thread does not confirm exactly what the salts are, only that the wording is suspect and likely outdated or proprietary.
Q. We have a plating specification that seems only one plating company has ever heard of. I’m hoping someone can explain the following spec: Anodize per Mil-A-8625, Type II Class 2 Black Seal for 1/2 Hour using Nickel Acetate and Aloxan Salts for Noted Surfaces
No one seems to know what Aloxan Salts are. Can anyone help?
Sue Schneider
Purchasing Manager – Hamburg, New York, USA
June 2015
A. Hi Sue. I don’t know, and I’ve never heard of it, but my guess is that it is actually “Alloxan” and that some proprietary nickel acetate seal contains/contained it. I think you should focus on changing this spec, not only because of the single-sourcing limitation but because times have changed and we must be leery of using poorly understood and possibly toxic processes.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com – Pine Beach, New Jersey
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