The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
  

  -----

Electroplating Science Fair

2005

I am an 11th grader. I did my Science Fair Project on Electroplating last year. I used this website to ask questions and for help. I did really good, got first place for chemistry in my school. I plated iron and brass using copper and copper sulphate ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] solution. I was trying to test Faraday's First Law of Electrolysis. I electroplated iron with 3, 6, 9 and 12 volts. I also electroplated brass with 3, 6, 9, and 12 volts. I did this for 2 days. The experiment came out good but the results where too small to measure.

This year I want to do something that is more sophisticated. I am still researching and would like to know if anybody could help me come up with an experiment that is better than the one I already did. Any comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cesar S.
student - Carson, California, United States

---

Your voltage was way too high. Will look up what copper should plate at and reply later. After you pass a given voltage, more and more of the current will go to generating hydrogen and oxygen as well as plating out any other metals in the solution. Your school should have a semi decent analytical balance that can measure to a hundredth of one gram, which should be adequate. Using a larger cathode will plate more metal out and should be easier to weigh on most balances. James Watts - Navarre, Florida 2005 Hi, I'm a junior this also and I'm actually trying to do an electroplating experiment like the one you did. I was going to try and prove Faraday's Law of Electrolysis but am having trouble measuring amps. Can you tell me exactly what you did on your experiment, your procedure and what you used? What was your purpose? How did it turn out? I would like some information from other people too. Thanks, Weston B. - Midlothian, Texas 2005

Hi, well last year I electroplated copper into iron. I had various problems. Don't use high voltages in your experiment. Try around 1.5 Volts. Try to have big metals, this will make it easier when it comes to find out how much copper was actually plated. Another suggestion would be to only leave it on for a little while, I left it on for a week and I discovered it was too long. I hope this helps, and if doesn't feel free to ask me anything else regarding my experiment from last year.

Cesar S.
- Huntington Park, California, USA
2005