Materials · Electrochemistry
Copper Electroplating and Faraday's Law
Beginner 2 weeks 10-15 hours
Electroplate copper onto steel at different currents and times, weigh the coating, and compare the mass deposited to Faraday's law.
Major
Materials
Focus area
Electrochemistry
Total hours
10-15 hours
What you'll need
- copper sulfate pentahydrate
- copper sheet anode
- adjustable DC bench power supply 30V 10A variable
- digital precision pocket scale 0.01g
- nitrile gloves and safety glasses
- glass beaker set
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Steps
- Clean steel samples and weigh each one, wearing gloves and eye protection.
- Mix the copper sulfate solution and set up the copper anode and steel cathode.
- Plate samples at several current levels and times using the bench supply.
- Rinse, dry, and weigh each sample to find the copper deposited.
- Compare measured mass to Faraday's law and calculate plating efficiency.
- Photograph coating quality and document the results for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Plating setup
- plated samples
- mass gain chart
- measured vs Faraday prediction
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Electroplated copper onto [X] steel samples and measured deposited mass within [X]% of Faraday's law predictions
Studied how current density affected coating quality and plating efficiency
Quantified results with [insert your result, such as hardness change, strength, efficiency, or error vs published values] and summarized findings in a technical report
Skills you'll show off
Electrochemistrysurface treatmentprecision measurementexperimental designdata analysis