PLATING ON TITANIUM
I am looking for a good procedure for plating copper on commercially pure titanium.
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Q. I am looking for a good procedure for plating copper on commercially pure titanium. We have tried a number of different methods for doing this but without any success. T.H.
A. As you have found out, plating on titanium is not the easiest process out there. The first thing you have to do is remove oxides from the surface. The oxides formed by titanium are rather tenacious and require more than the standard cleaning procedures. After plating is completed a baking step is often required to improve the adhesion of the plated layer.
A number of different procedures are available for doing this. One such procedure involves the following steps. Also note that the procedure requires the use of some nasty materials. Extreme caution is recommended when following this procedure.
| Process Step | Comments |
| Solvent degrease | |
| Alkaline clean | 190–195°F, 1–5 min |
| Rinse thoroughly in deionized water | |
| Blast with water abrasive slurry | 100–1200 mesh |
| Rinse thoroughly in deionized water | |
| Plate with electroless nickel | 10 micron thickness |
| Rinse rapidly with deionized water | |
| Plate in an acid copper plating bath | |
| Rinse thoroughly in deionized water | |
| Heat treat for 1 hr in a reducing atmosphere |
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