1. of chemicals plating

2. Contents How is it related to syllabus in ‘O’ Levels History What is electroplating? Application Lab experiment Harmful effects of electroplating through process and nature of chemicals

3. ‘O’ Level Syllabus Under the topic on electrolysis, students should be able to describe the electroplating of metals, e.g. copper plating, and state one use of electroplating

4. A new era of electrochemistry started when Humphry Davy (1778–1829), a British chemist, built a powerful battery to pass electricity through molten salts. He discovered elements, such as potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium, by liberating them from their molten compounds. But who actually invented electroplating?

5. Who was smart enough to have came up with the theory of ELECTROPLATING ? Italian chemist, Luigi Brugnatelli Invented electroplating in 1805 Brugnatelli performed electrodeposition of gold using the Voltaic Pile His work was rebuffed by the dictator Napoleon Bonaparte He still did write about electroplating in the Belgian Journal of Physics and Chemistry

6. What is ELECTROPLATING? Electroplating is the deposition of a metallic coating by putting a negative charge on an object and exposing it to a solution containing a metal salt. The positively charged metal ions in the salt solution are attracted to the object and reduced to metallic form upon it.

7. Putting ELECTROPLATING into APPLICATION 1. Rust protection 2.Acid/Alkali protection 3.Volt increase in conductivity 4. Jewellery making 5. Lead protection

8. Theory of ELECTROPLATING Anode - connected to the positive terminal of the battery Cathode - connected to the negative terminal of the battery Lemmon battery

9. When power is switched on: Copper is oxidized at the anode to Cu 2+ by losing 2 electrons Cu 2+ associates with SO 4 2- in the solution to form CuSO 4 Cu 2+ is reduced to metallic Cu at the cathode by gaining 2 electrons Redox reaction occurs during electroplating.

10. Why is the object to be plated placed at the cathode? It is because the cathode is negatively charged by being connected to the negative terminal of the battery. Hence, the Cu 2+ ions are attracted to the object at the cathode. Cu 2+ Copper (anode) Coin (cathode)

11. Time to conduct a little EXPERIMEN T!

12. PROCEDURE S 1.200ml of the electrolyte solution is poured into a beaker 2.Wires with alligator clips are connected to the terminals of the power supply. 3.The coins are cleaned with a mixture of 3g NaCl and 15ml vinegar, rinsed and dried. 4.One end of a 10-cm length of copper is tightly wrapped around each coin, leaving 5-6 cm of wire free. 5.The mass of each coin-copper wire is measured and recorded

13. 6. The set up is prepared as shown. 7. The electroplating cell is allowed to operated for 60 minutes. 8. The electrode is being removed and dried, being careful not to lose any of the copper plating. 9. The mass of the end product is measured and recorded.

14. Mass before electroplating / g 1.4g Mass after electroplating / g 1.6g RESULTS 1.6g – 1.4g = 0.2g of copper was coated on the coin.

15. Conclusion Effective transfer of copper from anode source to a plate covering the cathode. Copper, Nickel, Silver, Gold, Chromium } single metallic elements Brass, Solder } alloys

16. As reported in ‘Guidelines For The Safe Use Of Chemicals In Electroplating’, the nature of chemicals used in electroplating processes are toxic and corrosive to the skin. It is important that everyone could potentially come into contact with the chemicals should know and understand the risks involved and the specific handling precautions required for each chemical. In addition, protective equipments and clothings need to be worn. Is it harmful?

17. Hydrochloric acid Physical state StorageUse Possible biological effects Pungent Fuming Yellow liquid Acid store Acid dips Electroplating solutions May produce burns Irritation to Mucous membranes, skin, eyes Higher concentrations may cause Laryngitis, Bronchitis, Pulmonary oedema

18. Physical state StorageUse Possible biological effects Green solid Dry store Nickel electroplating Upper respiratory tract irritation Eye irritation Skin sensitisation, nickel itch resembling allergic Dermatitis or irritant dermatitis. Nickel salts chlorides, sulfate

19. Physical state StorageUse Possible biological effects Clear to yellow liquid Acid store Surface activation Pickling Chrome and copper Electroplating Anodising Respiratory tract irritation Eye irritation Contact with the skin or eyes may produce burns Long term effects of bronchitis Sulfuric acid

20. Special THANKS to the following websites http://www.osh.dol.govt.nz/order/catalogue/pdf/electroplating.pdf http://sg.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?ei=UTF- 8&p=Trichloroethylene&y=Search&fr2=tab-web&fr=yfp-t-web-shttp://sg.images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?ei=UTF- 8&p=Trichloroethylene&y=Search&fr2=tab-web&fr=yfp-t-web-s http://www.enviroliteracy.org/images/page-spec/sulfuric%20acid.gif http://www3.moe.edu.sg/edsoftware/ir/files/chem-titration- setup/images/hydrochloric_acid_3835.jpghttp://www3.moe.edu.sg/edsoftware/ir/files/chem-titration- setup/images/hydrochloric_acid_3835.jpg http://penelopeillustration.com/blog/wp-content/backgrounds.jpg http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/Electroplating.htm http://www.finishing.com/faqs/howworks.html http://www.lwkoo.cn/Freepaper/UploadFiles_2179/200809/20080904151421 43.jpghttp://www.lwkoo.cn/Freepaper/UploadFiles_2179/200809/20080904151421 43.jpg http://savetherobot.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/the-end.jpg http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/chemistry/institutes/1986/exp30.html http://www.fotosearch.com.au/clip-art/good.html http://www.fotosearch.com.au/clip-art/coin.html www.fotosearch.com.au www.google.com www.yahoo.com www.wikipedia.com http://www.wondercliparts.com/hugs/graphics/hugs_graphics_04.gif

21. A big thank you to our fellow teachers for their wisdom, the School for its endless support, the textbook for providing valuable information and any other person that has helped in one way or another.