Solid electrolyte/electrode assembly for electrochemical surface finishing applications

Abstract

A solid electrolyte is formed by blending a coating chemical with metal ions and fatty acid. Filling molds and drying the material in the molds forms the solid electrolyte. The solid electrolyte is mounted on an electrode and attached to a handle. The solid electrolyte is moved over a surface of a substrate with the handle. DC current is passed between the electrode and substrate and ions are transferred to the wetted substrate from the solid electrolyte.

Claims

1. A product comprising a shaped solid electrolyte electrodeposit material, further comprising a blended mixture of precursor, binder and medium in solid or semisolid form, a substrate to be treated, and an apparatus comprising the product with an electrode/electrolyte assembly adapted for electrochemical treatment of the substrate.

2. The product of claim 1, wherein the solid electrolyte further comprises metal salts, nanoparticles, organometallic precursor, polymer and ionic organic compound.

3. The product of claim 1, wherein the binder further comprises polymers polyethylene oxide, polyvinyl pyrolidone, silicones, inorganic binders, silicate, surfactants or cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide.

4. The product of claim 1, wherein the medium further comprises aqueous or non aqueous solvent, ionic liquid or aprotic solvent.

5. The product of claim 1, wherein the solid electrolyte is a moldable or conformable solid or semisolid in moldable form.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrode further comprises conducting metallic or nonmetallic wire, rods, tube foil, plate, sheet, foam or mesh and further comprising a DC power connection to the electrode.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a DC power connection to the electrode.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a handle connected to the electrode.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a DC power connection connected to the substrate.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an electrochemical material is an electroplating, electropolishing, electrowinning, electroetching or anodizing chemical, and wherein the electrochemical treatment comprises electroplating, electropolishing, electrowinning, electrochemical etching or anodization.

11. Apparatus comprising an ionic or nonionic electrolyte in a moldable solid or semisolid form of a blended mixture of electrodeposit material, and further comprising a substrate to be treated with the material.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the ionic or nonionic electrolyte comprises a mixture of precursor, binder and medium.

13. A method comprising forming a solid electrolyte electrodeposit material blended with a mixture of electrochemical material and binder and electrochemically treating a substrate with the material.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising attaching the solid electrolyte to an electrode.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising applying a DC connector to the electrode and providing a handle on the electrode.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising applying a DC connector to a substrate, wetting the substrate with solvent, holding the electrode and solid electrolyte, and with the handle moving the solid electrolyte in contact with the wetted surface of the substrate.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the wetting comprises spraying a solvent mist on the substrate.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising applying a DC connector to a substrate, holding the electrode and solid electrolyte, and with the handle moving the solid electrolyte in contact with the wetted surface of the substrate.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising transferring precursor from the solid electrolyte to the surface of the substrate.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the precursor is a metal salt, copper chloride, chromium chloride, nickel sulfate, organic compounds, pyridine, pyrrole, aniline, organometallic compounds, trimethylgallium, trimethylindium or trimethylaluminum.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the solid electrolyte precursor and the precursors are transferred from the solid electrolyte to a surface of the substrate by using the handle to move the solid electrolyte over the surface of the substrate when the surface is slightly wetted with solvent.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising mixing the electrochemical material with fatty acid surfactant and polymer binder in a blender with or without solvent medium, pouring the blended mixture in a mold and drying the mixture, thereby forming the solid or semisolid electrolyte form.

23. The method of claim 13, further comprising mixing the electrochemical material with fatty acid surfactant and polymer binder in a blender with or without solvent medium, pouring the blended mixture in a mold and chemical or physical crosslinking the mixture, thereby forming the solid or semisolid electrolyte form.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising mixing the electrochemical material with fatty acid surfactant and polymer binder in a blender with or without solvent medium, pouring the blended mixture in a mold consisting electrode/substrate and drying the mixture or chemical or physical crosslinking, thereby forming the solid or semisolid electrolyte/electrode assembly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1A depicts a photograph of commercial copper surfactant solutionpolymer binder 2.

(2) FIG. 1B depicts a photograph of the copper electrolyte 1 fabricated by the present invention.

(3) FIG. 2A shows a photograph of copper electrolyte solution 6 based on brush plating set up.

(4) FIG. 2B shows a photograph of copper electrolyte 1 based brush plating set up.

(5) FIG. 3A shows a photograph of steel coupon 3 before copper deposition by brush plating.

(6) FIG. 3B shows a photograph of steel coupon 3 after copper deposition by brush plating.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(7) The revolutionary approach of the present invention is to perform on demand brush plating with limited use of plating solution thereby minimizing the solution recirculation and also improving the capability to plate even on tightest spots in the ship with minimal effort. The present invention is drawn to a solid electrolyte containing high concentration of metal (copper, chromium, nickel etc.) which can release metal ions upon rubbing and applying electrical potential between electrode and the substrate only when the electrolyte is sufficiently hydrated. It is possible to store sufficient quantities of metal ions in the form of electrolyte and to deliver them to the necessary location as desired during the plating process. The solid electrolyte can be attached to the existing wand and can be covered with the cloth and brush plating, which can be performed similar to existing practices. The use of a solid electrolyte to deliver the metal ions opens up new opportunities for brush plating with minimal chemical handling and easier portability. A novel solid copper electrolyte developed by the present invention can be readily used in place of the existing solution based brush plating with very little modification to the existing hardware. This new technique for copper and other metal brush plating will reduce the maintenance time and associated cost significantly.

(8) A solid copper electrolyte for copper brush plating eliminates plating solution recirculation issues and improves the ability to perform plating even in tight spaces.

(9) In one embodiment of the present invention, commercial copper surfactant solution containing nearly 10 wt % of copper octanoate was obtained and used without any purification. In a typical procedure, a known amount of a polymer binder (polyethylene oxide) was mixed using homogenizer with copper octanoate solution in water for 30 mintues. Once the polymer-copper-surfactant solution 2 is homogeneous, the homogenized solution is poured in to plastic 222 cube molds and dried in a vacuum oven at 80 C. for two days. Upon completely drying the solidified electrolyte looks deep blue in color and is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

(10) The fabricated solid copper electrolyte polymer 1 is used for brush plating copper on steel coupons 3. A DC potential is applied between the steel plate 3 and a copper wand, i.e., brushing electrode 4 covered with the solid copper electrolyte 1 as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The copper electrolyte 1 is hydrated occasionally with few drops (1-2 mL) of water to maintain electrical conductivity. Alternatively, a mist of water is sprayed on the substrate. Copper is deposited on the steel plate 3 by brushing the copper electrolyte 1 over the steel plate 3. The set up used for brush plating with liquid and copper electrolyte is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, and the copper deposited steel coupon 7 is shown in FIG. 3.

(11) While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, modifications and variations of the invention may be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the following claims.