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AssigneeUmicore Galvanotechnik GmbH
InventorsKlaus Bronder, Bernd Weyhmuller, Frank Oberst, Sascha Berger, Michael Lauster
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Consumer goods and industrial articles are electro-plated with bronze layers for decorative reasons and to protect them against corrosion. The electrolytes used hitherto for producing decorative bronze layers are either cyanide-containing or, as in the case of baths based on organosulphonic acids, highly corrosive or have, as in the case of cyanide-free baths based on diphosphoric acid, unsatisfactory long-term stabilities. Electrolytes which are used for applying solderable bronze layers in the electronics industry usually contain toxic or very toxic thio compounds. The present invention provides a non-toxic electrolyte which displays long-term stability for the electrolytic deposition of decorative bronze layers and a corresponding process for the application of such decorative bronze layers to consumer goods and industrial articles.
Non-toxic electrolyte for the deposition of decorative bronze alloy layers on consumer goods and industrial articles which contains the metals to be deposited in the form of water-soluble salts, characterized in that the electrolyte contains one or more phosphonic acid derivatives as complexing agents and is free of cyanides, thiourea derivatives and thiol derivatives.
Process for the electrolytic application of decorative bronze alloy layers to consumer goods and industrial articles, in which the substrates to be coated are dipped into an electrolyte containing the metals to be deposited in the form of water-soluble salts, characterized in that a non-toxic electrolyte which contains one or more phosphonic acid derivatives as complexing agents and is free of cyanides, thiourea derivatives and thiol derivatives is used.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.