Electroplating

Electroplating is an electrochemical process by which it is possible to stably coat a metal object with a more valuable metal (e.g. gold, silver, copper, nickel, etc.). It is done in a galvanic bath by using the passage of a D.C. current at low voltage. The object acts as a cathode on which there is the reduction of the precious metal, while for an anode you use a sheet of the latter which, obviously, oxidises. The electroplating bath s a salt solution of the precious metal. The process, which forms part of electroplating technology, ha has lots of industrial applications. In some cases it is called plating. Through the proposed experiment so-called pickling, is carried out first, or a degreasing and cleaning of the object to be coated. The copper sheet is then connected to the alligator terminal of the cable coming from the positive pole of the generator and the steel alloy object to the cable terminal connected to the negative pole. The anode and the cathode are immersed in the electroplating solution and the generator is turned on. In short, you can observe the attachment of basic copper to the ferrous object.