How to properly coat steel with a layer of copper using vitriol, why many people fail
The need for copper plating of metal surfaces at home is associated with certain technical or aesthetic needs. Even a high school student can carry out this simple experiment if he chooses the right copper sulfate and strictly follows the sequence of fairly simple steps.
Will need
Materials and tools:
- distilled water;
- battery electrolyte or diluted sulfuric acid CuSO4;
- copper sulfate to combat plant diseases;
- technical copper sulfate;
- steel twist drill;
- degreasing solvent;
- funnel;
- disposable cups, etc.
The process of coating metal surfaces with a copper layer at home
In practice, it has been shown that not every copper sulfate sold in stores is suitable for copper plating of metal surfaces. Let's try using copper sulfate, which is designed to prevent plant disease. You can buy it in stores for summer residents, gardeners and gardeners.
To do this, pour a packet of copper sulfate, intended for combating plant diseases, into a plastic bottle half filled with distilled water and mix thoroughly by shaking until the sediment disappears. We get a blue solution.
Next, pour the prepared electrolyte or sulfuric acid solution into the copper sulfate solution. As a result of this mixing, the solution suddenly changed its color from blue to green. Perhaps this is how it should be.
For the experiment, we select a steel twist drill, which, after degreasing in a disposable glass with a solvent, is dipped into a solution of copper sulfate with green sulfuric acid, intensively moved up and down and made circular movements left and right.
But the experiment was unsuccessful; the surface of the drill was not covered with a layer of copper. It turned out that copper sulfate for the garden is not suitable for our purpose, possibly due to some impurities. To do this, you need technical copper sulfate, which can be purchased at a specialized store.
We also stir it in distilled water and obtain a blue solution. Thoroughly degrease the drill, dip it into a solution of technical copper sulfate and mix vigorously. As a result, we find that the copper has settled on the surface of the drill and formed a continuous layer of a beautiful reddish-brown color.
