Rapid Determination of Electroplating Solutions (1) -Copper from Copper Plating Solutions

각종 도금액의 신속분석법 (제 1 보)

Up to this date, numerous methods of analysis of electropling solutions are published. Some, however, need lots of works before reaching final results, or require high technique and special instruments, and also some are unaccurate due to unclearnes of end point. Like our undevelop countries, technicians of electroplating shops are most high school graduates or under, and have not much knowledge on chemistry. Furthermore, those technicians have to control their plating solutions by themselves without having enough analytical laboratory equipment . Therefore, in this paper the simplest, besides accurate method is investigated after comparing numerous methods published. Among the methods of copper determinations from acid and alkaline copper plating baths, EDTA titration method are chosen, due to these methods are the simpest and fastest for the evaluation of metal content, without requirng any special instrument. For acid copper solutions, chelate titrations were accurate enough. Since the end point of titration of chelate method is variable according to the kind of indicators and other metal's coexisitence as well as solution component, many difficulties were encountered from cyanide copper, on the contrary of acid copper bath. PAN , PV, and MX indicators were tried , but it is found that MX is the best. In chyanide solution ,due to cyanide is the masking reagent , elimination of this component is essential , and finally found that elimination CN-by precipitation with AgNO$_3$ solution was the simplest and the most accurate way among others. This method was very accurate for the new plating solutions even coexistence with organic brightners. However used solutions for long months running have to be predetermined the accurate copper value by thiosulfate method form time to time, before chelate titration by means of AgNO$_3$ precipitation. Always some constant deviations will be seen according to the solutions nature. Therefore those deviation values have to be compensated each time.