Do you know the common sense of electroplating gold?
Gold electroplating began in 1838 when the British created cyanide gold plating, which was mainly used for decoration. In the 1980s, pulsed gold plating and laser gold plating appeared. Electroplating gold is divided into electroplating hard gold and water gold processes. The composition of the bath is basically the same. There are some trace metals such as nickel, cobalt, iron and other elements in the hard gold bath. Now the gold plating of circuit boards is mainly citric acid gold bath, which is easy to maintain and easy to operate.
Electroplating gold has a history of more than two hundred years. The gold plating layer has a golden appearance, excellent chemical stability, discoloration resistance, electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance, together with good solderability, low contact resistance, and excellent thermocompression bonding performance, which makes electroplating gold The coating can be used not only as a decorative coating, but also as a functional and protective coating. Therefore, electroplating gold is used in jewelry, wall clocks, handicrafts, electronics, instruments, meters, aviation, aerospace and other industrial fields.
Most of the gold electroplating processes used contain cyanide. The traditional cyanide gold plating solution is stable and reliable, has high current efficiency, and has excellent dispersion and covering ability. However, cyanide is harmful to the environment and human body. With the increase of environmental protection requirements, the plating solution develops in the direction of cyanide-free and environmental protection. It is the general trend that the cyanide-free gold plating process replaces the cyanide-containing process.
The electroplated gold coating has strong corrosion resistance, good electrical conductivity, easy welding, high temperature resistance, and has a certain wear resistance (such as hard gold mixed with a small amount of other elements), and has excellent resistance to discoloration. At the same time, the gold alloy coating has many The shades are gold-plated on silver to prevent discoloration. Electroplating of parts that require long-term stable electrical parameter performance, such as electronic tubes and electrical contacts. Gold plating is also used as a decorative coating for electroplating jewelry, wall clock parts, works of art, etc.