How to electroplate silver on copper using silver nitrate

[@lydiatrevelyan8325]

i simply wished to thank you for your video. it covered what to do AND the science details etc. ty :)

[@runcycleskixc]

I wonder how strong the adhesion of Ag to Cu is, and if there are ways to make the adhestion stronger. I once had Au plated by a shop, and it came off after a few months of use.

[@iosubion8771]

Congratulations, I think I recognized the voice and hands from other video demonstrations of a real chemist.

[@dankacher359]

Can you quantify a little bit of silver nitrate? What concentration are you using? How much did you add to what volume of water?

[@EnderPlayerr]

I just left a copper penny on a silver nitrate solution for some hours, then I removed the penny and it was coated with silver like the coin you used

[@neutronpcxt372]

What you did is called electroless plating. It often results in easier plating, but it's thinner.

[@d-not-u]

You made it look easy haha awesome 👏

[@terryaustin9852]

How long can the solution be used and how to store it

[@richardpalmer1967]

Hello, many thanks for the video. Excellent! I guess the lower the current the more refined/detailed will be the finished item? This may sound very strange but years ago a metallurgist told me liquorice could be added to the electrolyte? I don’t know how true? So, the longer you leave it the greater the deposit and the thicker the plate. There must be a way of calculating the mass of silver transferred , hence the thickness of plate per init surface area?

[@martinwashington3152]

I am plating multiple of the same objects soon, I will try a sample tub of silver nitrate electrolyte with some added liquorice and do my best to get back to you. If time allows, I'll document further and post online too :D

[@Lewis_Music88]

What reaction takes place?

[@PatriotCoinRings]

+InForAPenny2010 I have a commemorative collector coin that is just plain steel metal and I tried to gold plate it direct which it obviously won't take. To electroplate it Gold or Silver do I need to electroplate it copper first, then electroplate gold or silver of choice or is there a better way?

[@wayne69in]

Can you use vinegar instead of deionized water?

[@lazyweapons]

This was quite interesting. I'm planning on plating a homemade watch case. I'll get my chemistry teacher to help with the specifics.

[@lean032]

Nice job!!! Have you tried this method on other metals like brass? I woul like to re-plate a flute, hope this method works!

[@manojshahane640]

I'm from India.can I do silver plating on silver? Please reply.

[@18BravoMOS]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we use Silver Nitrate to prevent infection in newborn's eyes (Gonorrhea), cauterize, and heal oral ulcers? I believe it was diluted, but... I think there was also some research into using it to sterilize women. It may have been used for warts too. Long term exposure can cause eye damage and is a skin and eye irritant, but I'm not certain about toxicity. One result is blue/purple skin, but it hasn't been studied for causing cancer. Could you cite a source for toxicity?

[@poirotcat]

Silver nitrate does have a history of being used as a caustic, yes. We also used mercury to "cure"syphilis in the same era of medical history, and that's not exactly recommended by today's standards either. Toxicity does not mean just causing cancer. It means it's toxic; e.g., poisonous or otherwise not very good for you. Aspirin is toxic if you take enough of it. Bleach is toxic if you take any of it. If you google "MSDS Silver nitrate" you will find the material safety data sheet: the information that all manufacturers of chemicals and chemical solutions have to provide by law regarding the hazards involved in use and storage. According to Sigma Aldrich (one of the world's largest chemical manufacturers) silver nitrate is corrosive, acutely toxic to wildlife if it gets in to water supplies and causes skin burns and eye damage if handled incorrectly. That data will have been generated using laboratory fish and animals. Similarly you could google silver nitrate toxicity and get a whole host of medical papers on what happens to the poor souls who ingest it in large quantities.

[@lessterrible8099]

The previous reply has a more complete answer, but I wanted to add that if a substance can STERILIZE you, its clearly poisonous!

[@wesleyburnham7372]

Excellent video, I'm going to try a similar procedure.

[@tonyl2944]

I tried this on a silver quarter with copper edges... wanted to coat the edges of the copper clad coin so it appears to be all silver. black coated the coin but after agitation fell off and left copper edge uncoated. Do you know why this did not work? Thanks~!

[@InForAPenny2010Adventure]

I think this may be down to cleanliness; you need to make sure the copper is clean. This means free from oil etc, there may also be an oxide film over the copper; this can be removed by pickling the coin in dilute sulphuric acid. If you are going to try this I would advise experimenting on some copper first before attempting your coin.

[@tonyl2944]

Thanks, will give it a go...

[@kreynolds1123]

Furthermore, electricity likes to take the path of least resistance, and that will be on the prt closest to the anode.

[@USAlien234]

Will this work with brass? Im trying to silverplate a brass ring to prevent it from staining your finger green.....and it would look nicer. Thanks lol

[@neutronpcxt372]

Yes it would work, since brass is a copper alloy.

[@USAlien234]

@@neutronpcxt372 Sweet. Well thank you.

[@amanthakur2058]

very nice bro.

[@kreynolds1123]

Can one use 3.3v, 5v or 12v from a computer power supply, or rather other, whats too little and whats too high, and how does various voltage levels effect the finish? What happens if you use either too little or too much silver nitrate.

[@stevenlee9680]

The standard reduction potential of copper and silver are: Cu2+(aq) + 2e- -> Cu(s) = 0.34 V (Anode) Ag+(aq) + e- -> Ag(s) = 0.8 V (Cathode) Since we are plating silver, we are reducing silver ions into silver metal. So the overall reaction potential would be 0.8 - 0.34 = 0.46 V, which yields a spontaneous reaction according to Gibb's law (deltaG = -nFE). According to the Butler-Volmer relationship, current density (or plating density per unit area aka speed of electroplating) is exponentially proportional to the overpotential driven on a system (voltage from power source minus the voltage to drive the electrochemical reaction). To answer your question, using an uncontrolled, high-voltage power source would likely drive the reaction to max speed, possibly affecting the silver plating uniformity. The concentration of the electrolyte (i.e. aqueous silver nitrate solution) is positively correlated to the amount of silver ions available for plating on copper. As someone mentioned above, simply putting a copper coin into a silver nitrate solution will cause silver plating spontaneously, so you should not need a very large voltage to drive the reaction. The critical parameter should be the amount of current passing between the electrodes. This can be controlled based on Ohm's law (V = IR). You need a resistor to control the current flow based on the voltage your power source outputs. Hope this help.

[@kreynolds1123]

@@stevenlee9680 So it seems the main concern is the current is per sq unit of surface area. Naturally the electrolyte can change its conductivity as ion concentrations change and temperature changes. So, what should the current density be?

[@stevenlee9680]

@@kreynolds1123 You would probably have to play around to figure out the best current density for uniform plating. Generally lower the current density, the more uniform the plating. If you drive the current to the system's maximum, then the ions in the electrolyte will have a hard time diffusing across to the surface of copper, and will likely create uneven plating or even dendrite growth (not sure if silver has the tendency to do that, but other metals such as lithium certain will grow dendrite).

[@ralphsammis7330]

@@stevenlee9680 - no one says ac or dc voltage. The best answer would be to encourage the use of a common phone or other gadget charger available to all of us please.

[@immaunicorn4124]

Is the penny used in this video %100 copper or a copper alloy?

[@nicholaskershaw9859]

Most likely an alloy.

[@teekotrain6845]

Probably copper coated zinc penny

[@immaunicorn4124]

@@teekotrain6845 wow I didn’t even know I commented this 3 years ago lmao

[@RonaldRaiden]

Nice. I'm gonna silver plate a mech mod...outside cause I'm assuming this makes fumes

[@ralphsammis7330]

You didn’t say 8v 50ma of ac or dc current.

[@tophatv2902]

dc

[@mihazakotnik2072]

nice one....I like it

[@InForAPenny2010Adventure]

Thanks Miha! Just showing potential uses for silver…

[@brucelevine6517]

Bad job try 3 volts and you won't have to polish it try cleaning it with hot soapy water followed by dipping in vinegar and distilled water try making the plating solution 120 degrees and ales on 30 seconds

[@InForAPenny2010Adventure]

Thanks for the comment, using 3 volts may have improved the coating appearance (obviously the process would have taken longer due to the lower current when operating at a lower voltage). I take your point about using vinegar to clean the part but silver polish also works well! There are many other ways in which the coating process could have been improved, for example using a different PH in the plating bath. The results I got with this simple setup were sufficient for my needs of silver plating a copper plated coin, there was a coating over the complete surface area of the coil (although may be not totally uniform over the coin).

[@mmmygc]

@@InForAPenny2010Adventure I want to make the silver plating as thick as possible, do i need to constantly wipe off the black coating (containing silver oxide) that forms on the surface of the copper object (a copper pot) if i electroplate for say 24 hours? Will the black silver oxide prevent the pure silver from plating to the object? What are your opinions on using sodium carbonate + hydrogen peroxide for the solution instead? thanks

[@WianApple]

dude cathode is the positive terminal and the anode is the negative terminal

[@InForAPenny2010Adventure]

Wian Esterhuyse Trust me (I’m a doctor) the anode is the positive (+) and the cathode is the negative (-)

[@InForAPenny2010Adventure]

Lupus Mechanicus I will concede that my statement of which was the cathode and anode is incorrect in this electroplating example. The positive and negative sides are correct however. Thanks for you correction and comment!

[@EnderPlayerr]

the cathode is the positive terminal on batteries, not in electrolysis process

[@Pandabubble]

in electrochemistry the cathode becomes the neg. while the anode becomes pos. confusing, i know.

[@0077alfie]

Cathode is always negative.