The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989
-----

Zinc as electrolyte produces slow results. How can I speed up the process?

Hello! I am a Secondary Four student doing a project on electroplating...and I have used vinegar ⇦in bulk on eBay or Amazon [affil links] as the electrolyte...however, the process took almost 45 mins. However, when I use copper (II) sulphate solution or dilute hydrochloric acid, the object gets electroplated within 15 mins. Is there any way I can speed up the process of electroplating while still using vinegar as the electrolyte?

Thank you

Puyal
Student - Singapore
2005

---

Probably not. vinegar is a very mild acid and can only hold a very small amount of copper or zinc in solution. You can't plate the metal out of solution any faster than it dissolves in.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2005

Try using a larger container of plating solution so that it will not go low on the zinc in solution as fast. Also , slightly increase the agitation so you get new solution to the cathode faster.

James Watts
- Navarre, Florida
2005

Vinegar basically contains acetic acid ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . In order to make the electroplating more effective either you need to alter the electrode potential. However, as Mr Ted pointed out, it is a difficult task. you can try heating up the electrolyte and slightly diluting it with HCl.

Manuj Kaushesh
- Solan, H.P, India
2005