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Electrodeposition of copper onto titanium

Hey everyone

I've used this website quite a few times in the past, and this is the first time I'm asking going to ask a question.

I need to electrodeposit small particles of copper on titanium. I don't want to completely coat the titanium. (The reason I want to do this is so that I can conduct Digital Image Correlation studies on titanium tensile coupons)

Going by what I've read on this site, electroplating of titanium is a very difficult process and it would be better to use vapor deposition processes. Unfortunately I don't have access to the required equipment to do that so I'm kind of stuck with electrodeposition.

Thanks!

Mishaal Azhar
University student - Ottawa, ON, Canada
July 14, 2011

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Perhaps brush plated copper will have the necessary adhesion for your purpose. You may try masking the bulk Ti surface, open the spots you need, blast them with fine aluminum oxide and immediately plate acid nickel and copper. Good luck,
G. Marrufo-Mexico

Guillermo Marrufo
Monterrey, NL, Mexico
July 15, 2011

Unfortunately I can't have a deformed Titanium surface due to the nature of the study I am conducting. This means I can't use any blasting media to deform the surface. The copper deposition I am trying to accomplish should be strictly limited to surface adhesion (although the strength of adhesion is not that big a factor; as long as the copper deposits won't roll off the sample!)

Mishaal Azhar
- Ottawa, ON, Canada
July 19, 2011

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You can try this:

Spray iron salt solution dispersed in a solvent on the surface of Titanium, dry it in hot air oven and subsequently immerse the iron coated Ti in a copper sulphate ⇦ this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] solution. Copper will plate out due to galvanic displacement on spots wherever the iron salt was coated.

T.S.N. Sankara Narayanan
- Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
(ed.note: The good doctor offers a fascinating blog, "Advancement in Science" )
July 27, 2011