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Electroplating involves placing two metals in a conductive liquid and applying a charge to both. One metal dissolves and is absorbed by the other, adding to its mass. The process is like a battery, with a cathode, anode, and electrolyte. The anode deteriorates and the metal travels to the cathode, coating it. No metal is lost and the anode replenishes the ions lost in the electrolyte.
Electroplating is the process of electroplating the metal or surface of an electrode. The science behind metal electroplating is complex when it comes to determining which metals will work with each other and how to mix the chemicals, but the process itself is pretty easy to understand. Essentially, two metals are placed in an electrically conductive liquid and a charge is applied to both. One of the metals will dissolve, and the galvanic metal will absorb the dissolved metal, adding to its mass. This is used to impart properties to the electrode, such as durability, or to thicken thin parts of the electrode surface.
The first part of metal electroplating is choosing which metal to add to the electrode, based on the properties of that particular metal. Once this is done, an electrolyte solution is created. An electrolyte solution is an electroconductive liquid in which metal salts and ions are dissolved to allow electricity to flow through the liquid better. Subsequently, the electrode and the metal to be melted are added to the electrolyte.
These three properties – the electrode, the electrolyte and the metal to be dissolved – can be compared to the three parts of a battery: cathode, electrolyte and anode. The cathode is a negatively charged substance, and in this case it is the electrode. The electrolyte allows electricity to flow and the anode is the positively charged part. Normally, in a battery, the power from the anode would be blocked by the electrolyte and would have to travel through the device before arriving at the anode. In the metal electroplating process, the anode is able to travel directly to the cathode.
The cathode and anode portions of the galvanic are connected to an external battery, supplying positive energy to the anode and negative energy to the cathode. As the charge is sent through the metals, the anode will begin to deteriorate. The opposite charge is present, so the metal will instantly travel to the cathode electrode, coating it. This causes the metal to be galvanized.
When the anode fails, there is no metal loss. All of the broken down metal travels to the cathode, so no more metal needs to be added to receive the necessary amount of electroplating. At the same time, the metal of the anode is able to replenish the ions lost in the electrolyte. This allows it to continue to conduct electricity without scientists or workers having to add new ions to allow galvanic progress.
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