Effect of Immersion Time on the Defect Formations and Properties of the Electroplating Chrome

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of immersion time on the mechanical properties and the defect formation in the electroplating chromium. A polymer was used as substrate, whereas cooper and nickel were used as underlayer materials prior to chrome plating. Three electrolyte solution baths were prepared to plate copper, nickel, and chrome layers. The electroplating process was conducted using a current of 5 Ampere and a voltage of 12 Volt. The processing variable was carried out by varying the immersion time with 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 40 minutes.The morphology of the cross sectional surface of the product was observed using an optical microscope, whereas the mechanical properties were evaluated using a Vickers microhardness tester. The result demonstrates that the microhardness increases as the increase of the immersion time. However, by increasing the immersion time there was a trend in the formation of fibrous defect found either in the body or interfacial adhesion between Cu/Ni/Cr layers. This defect was attributed to the thickness inhomogeneity of each layer.