Electroplating passes an electric current through a bath containing dissolved metal ions, depositing a thin, adherent layer of that metal onto a conductive object serving as the circuit's cathode, used to protect a base metal from corrosion, improve its appearance, or build up a precise dimension. Luigi Brugnatelli demonstrated an early laboratory version in 1805, but the process only became a practical commercial technology after George and Henry Elkington patented electroplating with gold and silver in Britain in 1840. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Core PrincipleUse an electric current to move metal ions out of a solution and onto a conductive object, building a thin, controlled, adherent metal coating one layer at a time. 1 FAQs
When did electroplating become a commercial process and who was behind it?
The Elkingtons patented it in 1840.
George and Henry Elkington were awarded the first patents for electroplating in 1840 and founded an electroplating industry in Birmingham. Their work helped turn the method into a commercial process.
Connections
Sources
1. Electroplating (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory section
George and Henry Elkington obtained the first patents for electroplating in 1840.
Process section
At the cathode, the Cu2+ is reduced to metallic copper by gaining two electrons.
lead sentence
Electrodeposition (electrochemical deposition or electroplating) is a material processing technology.
In Group: Coating and Deposition Methods, Introduction
Electroplating, also known as electrochemical deposition or electrodeposition, is a process for producing a metal coating on a solid substrate through the reduction of cations of that metal by means of a direct electric current.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.