Structure and Properties of Electrodeposited Metals

The fundamental purpose of electrodeposition is to change the characteristics of a surface and So obtain improved properties. One of the first recarded instances of its lise is that by Henry Bessemer (the pioneer steel manufacturer) whO,in 1831, copper-plated castipgs of insects, frogs, and plants by placing them on a zinc tray immersed in a solution of copper sulphate; the other main copper plating bath based on cyanide was operated by J. Wright, a Birmingham surgeDn, in 1840. Since this early work, the subje,ct has grown vastly in importance and electrodepositiDn is now the most widely used technique for applying metallic ooatings.* Present commercial processes range from large automated plant for the continuous high-speed coating of wire and stdp to the plating of micraswitches for electronic equipment.