So, this is going to be more complicated than I expected.
To make this zincate solution, I need to dissolve the zinc first in HCL to get zinc chloride.
DO NOT DO THIS INDOORS, especially in large quantities. Bad things can happen.
I’ll have to do that outside for pretty obvious reasons.
Then, I’ll have to neutralize the solution of ZnCL2 with NaOH:
2NaOH + ZnCl2→ Zn(OH)2 + 2NaCl
The reaction should be balanced at that point, and I should have zinc hydroxide precipitate.
This will allow me to decant the solution and get pure zinc hydroxide power after drying it.
After that, to prepare the zincate solution, I need to put it in a solution of sodium hydroxide to get the zincate solution.
Then I’ll be able to prepare the alkaline copper plating solution, and nickel.
Yes, but in a regular plating setup, making copper acetate that way work well in the beginning, but becomes horribly inefficient as the solution gets copper in it.
That is because the copper ions now have a path to travel to the opposite electrode, which prevents more copper to dissolve in the solution.
There are 3 ways to bypass this:
Use a higher % of vinegar. 10% works better, but not optimally.
Make a galvanic cell setup. That will separate the solutions, meaning you will be getting maximum concentration until the solution is saturated.
3. Don’t do actual plating with copper acetate.
Use hydrochloric acid for a rapid etch plate.
Use copper sulfate for some metals, which is the best method.
Make a complicated alkaline setup from scratch since nobody is willing to share anything useful in the electroplating community.
Nobody in the industry is willing to share anything, so I have to use my chemistry knowledge, backwards means of searching for product compositions, and the like.
It does make for a fun learning experience.
And while it is actually more expensive initially to make the products and purchasing the necessary materials,
if I actually manage to reverse engineer an inexpensive process, I will be able to plate almost all aluminium lights with copper or nickel.
The problem with ordering plating supplies online is the shipping, and I don’t want to pay exorbitant amounts for a local shop to do it, for a flashlight anyway.
Here are the steps I have to do, and what backwards means I’ve had to actually make it.
1. Prepare a sodium hydroxide aluminium anodization strip solution. I’ve had to go to a soap making shop to get sodium hydroxide and some plastic containers to contain the solution
2. Prepare a sodium zincate solution for electroless(no electricity) plating the aluminium. I either have to purchase zinc oxide and then dissolve it, or put zinc sheets in muriatic acid, then neutralize it with sodium hydroxide to get zinc hydroxide, which will then allow me to dissolve it in another NaOHbath.
3. Prepare an alkaline copper solution for plating. Easy. Just get some sodium carbonateand dissolve the copper electrochemically.
Will not really work though, because of copper carbonate’s tendency of being insoluble.
I have to find another way to dissolve it.
Thanks a lot for the help anyway, as I’ve spoken to a lot of people about this, which includes Nurdrage, NileRed, a chemist friend of mine working at an electroplating shop, and someone on BLF has helped me, but I will not discuss of their name.
It’s a proprietary solution, and it’s hard to do, but it is perfectly possible.
Normal methods of doing this only produce insoluble copper oxide which then needs to be processed using patented dangerous chemicals and temperatures.
However, if you introduce electricity in the process, you can basically force dissolution of copper inside of the solution in the form of…
sodium cuprate.
Proprietary solutions of flash copper are made of sodium cuprate.
If everything works out, I should have a blue solution today(which I do), and a blue no precipate solution tomorrow!
Zincate wouldn’t work too well here, since electroless zincate plating makes for a very thin coating. But if people want an electroplated zinc coating, it would work well.
Something like:
- Deanodized
- Copper
- Nickel
- Zinc
- Silver(+ min qty needed)
Gold salts(+ min qty needed)
I’ll post my progress in a few minutes to show you what I’ve made.
I won’t make any progress this week though because of exams.
Aluminum oxidizes almost instantly in air. That’s why welding it is so darn hard. Just to test, submerge some aluminum and sand it with sand paper. Leave it in the solution, and fire up the rig. Hopefully the sanded area will plate. If this works, then you can always brainstorm on a chemical de-oxidizer method for the next go round.
I can easily dissolve any copper into solution using a galvanic cell process at high concentrations(8-10g/L), but I specifically need Pyrophosphate as a weak base for the zinc to be etched away, but the copper to stick.
Sodium cuprate(copper dissolved in sodium hydroxide) does etch the zinc, and plates copper, but sodium hydroxide attacks the aluminium, meaning you get a gap between the aluminium and copper, and copper does not stick.
If I get can get Pyrophosphate, then I’ll easily be set for making copper plated lights.