Abstract
The throwing power of various nickel plating baths were measured by the Hull cell method, in which throwing powers were expressed in terms of thickness of deposits measured at various points across the cathode, and of primary current distributions derived from the conventional Hull cell current density formula.
The effects of current density and of bath compositions on the throwing power of nickel were studied. Among the nickel plating baths, studied, the highest throwing powers were given by dull nickel, all-chloride, NaCl, and high-sulfate nickel solutions. However, Watts, sulfamate, high-sulfamate, and KCl nickel plating baths gave moderate throwing powers, and fluoborate and citrate baths gave low throwing powers.
The effects of sulfates on the throwing power and electrolytic conductivity were studied in the Watts bath. It was found that the throwing power and conductivity were improved by raising the concentration of sulfate such as K2SO4, Na2SO4, (NH4)2SO4 and MgSO4.
