New or Improved Manufacture of Articles of Nickel and of Nickel Plated Goods.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Dec., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 11th Sept., 1891-Accepted, 31st Oct., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Manufacture of Articles of Nickel and of Nickel
Plated Goods.
I, LUDWIG MOND of Wimmington Hall, Northwich in the County of Chester,
Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
:—
This invention relates to a process for manufacturing articles of nickel such as
casts or impressions, sheets, tubes, etcetera, etcetera, and for making nickel plated
goods by direct deposition of this metal from a compound of nickel with carbon
monoxide, called nickel-carbon-oxide.
This nickel-carbon-oxide is formed by the action of carbonic oxide or a mixture
of gases containing carbonic oxide upon finely divided nickel at a suitable tempera-
ture, say 50° C. It is a colourless liquid boiling at 43° C.; is soluble in a large
number of organic compounds such as benzole, petroleum, etcetera; and is readily
volatile at ordinary temperatures in a current of other gases, which have no
chemical action upon it, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen,
nitrogen, etcetera, etcetera.
On heating, the nickel-carbon-exide is decomposed into its constituents, nickel
and carbonic oxide, and, if the temperature is properly regulated, the nickel is
obtained as a firmly coherent bright deposit of pure metal, of equal thickness and
covering the whole of the surface of the vessel or receptacle in which it has been
heated.
In manufacturing articles of nickel, I make moulds, cores, surfaces, etcetera, of
any convenient material not injured by the heat employed, which may be coated
with graphite, coal dust or other suitable material to prevent the nickel sticking to
the moulds, cores or surfaces, and expose these, heated to a suitable temperature,
either to the vapour of the nickel-carbon-oxide, which may be used mixed with
other gases just as it is obtained by the process above described, or which may be
produced by evaporating the liquid, preferably by the aid of inert gases such as
nitrogen, carbonic acid, carbonic oxide, hydrogen, etcetera, etcetera, or I immersc,
sprinkle or wash the moulds, etcetera, in the said heated condition, with liquid
carbon oxide or its solution. The solution can easily be obtained by passing the
mixture of gases containing the nickel-carbon-oxide vapours, obtained as described,
through petroleum, benzole or other solvent. The nickel commences to deposit
upon the goods immersed in the liquid or its solution at a temperature of 60° to 70°
and проп those exposed to the vapour at about 150° C., but the exact temperature
to which the goods have to be heated depends upon the thickness, colour and
nature of the deposit which it is desired to obtain, and also upon the character and
size of the articles to be made, and has to be ascertained and varied according to
circumstances.
In making sheets of nickel, plane or curved surfaces, coated with graphite, coal
dust or other suitable substance, are employed on which to deposit the nickel, and,
in making tubes, rods or cores of any suitable material can be employed.
Whenever a thick deposit of nickel is desired, it is advisable to make the forms
or moulds to be used hollow, so that one side of them may be continuously heated
while the deposition of the nickel upon the other side is going on, but it is also
possible to obtain thick deposits of nickel by previously heating a form or mould to
a suitable temperature, exposing it to the nickel-carbon-oxide and heating it again,
exposing it again, and repeating this until the desired thickness of nickel deposit
has been obtained.

page_text: In many instances, it is of course necessary to make the moulds in pieces so that
the nickel articles can be taken out without injury.
In making nickel plated goods, the articles to be plated, after their surface has
been properly cleaned, are treated, in a similar manner to that described as
applicable to moulds, with nickel-carbon-oxide in the form of vapour or liquid or
solution, at a suitable temperature, until the required thickness of coating upon
their surface has been obtained.
Dated this 23rd day of December 1890.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Manufacture of Articles of Nickel and of Nickel
Plated Goods.
I, LUDWIG MOND of Winnington Hall, Northwich in the County of Chester,
Manufacturing Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to a process for manufacturing articles of nickel such as
casts or impressions, sheets, tubes, and the like, and for making nickel plated goods
by direct deposition of this metal from a compound of nickel with carbon monoxide,
called nickel-carbon-oxide.
This nickel-carbon-oxide is formed by the action of carbonic oxide or a mixture
of gases containing carbonic oxide upon finely divided nickel at a suitable tempe-
rature, say 50° C. It is a colourless liquid boiling at 43° C.; is soluble in a large
number of organic compounds such as benzole, petroleum, etcetera ; and is readily
volatile at ordinary temperatures in a current of other gases, which have no
chemical action upon it, such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen,
nitrogen, etcetera.
On heating, the nickel-carbon-oxide is decomposed into its constituents, nickel
and carbonic oxide, and, if the temperature be properly regulated, the nickel is
obtained as a firmly coherent bright deposit of pure metal, of equal thickness and
covering the whole of the surface of the vessel or receptacle in which it has been
heated.
In manufacturing articles of nickel, I make moulds, cores, surfaces, etcetera, of
any convenient material not injured by the heat employed. These may be coated
with graphite, coal dust or other suitable material to prevent the nickel sticking to
the moulds, cores or surfaces. I expose these latter heated to a suitable tempera-
ture, either to the vapour of the nickel-carbon-oxide, which may be used mixed
with other gases just as it is obtained by the process above described, or which
may be produced by evaporating the liquid, preferably by the aid of inert gases
such as nitrogen, carbonic acid, carbonic oxide, hydrogen, etcetera, or I immerse,
sprinkle or wash the moulds, etcetera, in the said heated condition, with liquid
carbon-oxide or its solution. The solution can easily be obtained by passing the
mixture of gases containing the nickel-carbon-oxide vapours, obtained as described,
through petroleum, benzole or other suitable solvent, which should be well cooled
to favour the absorption. The nickel commences to deposit upon the moulds
etcetera immersed in the liquid or its solution at a temperature of 60° to 70° and
upon those exposed to the vapour at about 150° C., but the exact temperature to
which the said moulds have to be heated depends upon the thickness, colour and
nature of the deposit which it is desired to obtain, and also upon the character and
size of the articles to be made, and has to be ascertained and varied according to
circumstances. If however a temperature of 300° C. is exceeded the nickel
leposit becomes pulverulent.

page_text: The nickel deposited from gases is of a whiter colour than that deposited from
liquids. Gases containing a small quantity of the nickel compound up to 5 per cent.
produce a more uniform deposit of nickel than richer gases. The latter are apt to
form rough surfaces. To obtain a perfectly coherent deposit, air must be
scrupulously excluded; as otherwise intermediate layers of oxide may be formed.
In making sheets of nickel, plane or curved surfaces, coated with graphite, coal
dust or other suitable substance, are employed on which to deposit the nickel;
these can if desirable form the walls of the chamber or tube into which the nickel-
carbon-oxide is passed and they can be heated externally. In making tubes, the
nickel can be deposited on the interior of tubular moulds which can also be heated
externally, or hollow cores of any suitable material can be employed, which can be
heated internally.
Whenever a thick deposit of nickel is desired, it is advisable to make the forms
or moulds to be used hollow, so that one side of them may be continuously heated
while the deposition of the nickel upon the other side is going on, but it is also
possible to obtain thick deposits of nickel by previously heating a form or mould to
à suitable temperature, exposing it to the nickel-carbon-oxide and heating it again,
exposing it again, and repeating this until the desired thickness of nickel deposit
has been obtained.
In many instances, it is of course necessary to make the moulds in pieces so that
the nickel articles can be taken out without injury.
In nickel plating, the goods to be plated, after their surfaces have been properly
cleaned, are suspended in the heated state in an atmosphere impregnated with
nickel-carbon-oxide or are treated in a similar manner to that described as
applicable to moulds with the nickel-carbon-oxide in the form of vapour liquid or
solution at the requisite temperature until the required thickness of coating upon
their surfaces has been obtained.
If it be of special importance that the coating should adhere particularly firmly
upon metallic goods, more especially iron goods, it is advantageous to cover these
goods first with tin and then deposit the nickel upon them at a temperature at
which the tin melts, whereby the nickel covering becomes practically soldered to
the metal.
The process as described, can be carried out in practice in a great many ways
and with the aid of numerous appliances and apparatus, so as to suit the require-
ments of the different articles or goods to be thereby produced; but the most
convenient mode of operation I have up to the present found out is as follows:-
A cast iron cylinder which is mounted so as to rotate about its axis and provided
with inside longitudinal ribs or projections, is partly filled with oxide of nickel and
heated to 400° C. A current of water-gas is then passed through it until the
nickel has been reduced to the metallic state. The cylinder and contents are then
allowed to cool down to ordinary temperature in an atmosphere of water-gas. A
current of carbonic oxide is now passed through. This carbonic oxide may be
prepared by passing carbonic acid obtained from any convenient source through
incandescent coke. The moulds to be used for preparing articles of nickel or the
goods which are to be plated with nickel are put into an air-tight chamber in
which they are heated to 200° C., and after driving out the air from this chamber
by water-gas, the gas issuing from the cast iron cylinder-is passed through this
chamber and from the outlet of this chamber it is passed back again into the iron
cylinder. A fan or other device put between the cylinder and the chamber causes
the gas constantly to circulate through the cylinder and the chamber. In its
passage through the cylinder, the gas takes up nickel which is deposited on the
heated goods wholly or partly, and in passing through the cylinder the gas is again
charged with the nickel.
After a certain time the nickel is less readily taken up by the gas. The
cylinder is then heated up to 350° C. while carbonic oxide continues to pass
through and is cooled down again to ordinary temperature, whereby the activity
of the nickel is restored.

page_text: The chamber in which the goods are exposed, which is conveniently made of cast
iron, is generally only heated at the bottom on which the goods rest, so that the
sides and top do not become hot enough to decompose the nickel compound. When
a sufficient deposit of nickel has been obtained, the chamber containing the goods
is disconnected from the cylinder; the gases left in it are allowed to escape through
hot tubes to recover any nickel they may contain, and the goods are then taken
out. It is advantageous to heat these goods in a current of hydrogen to
about 400°, which may be done in the same chamber before taking them out, as by
this treatment the nickel acquires great ductility.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. The new or improved manufacture of articles of nickel by exposing moulds or
surfaces that may be coated with or formed of graphite or other suitable material
(from which nickel can be easily parted or separated) in the heated state to nickel-
carbon-oxide, until a sufficiently thick layer of nickel has been deposited and then
separating the articles so formed from the mould surface or matrix.
2. The manufacture of nickel plated goods by exposing the surfaces of the goods
in a heated state to the action of nickel-carbon-oxide until the requisite thickness
of nickel has been deposited thereon.
Dated this 10th day of September 1891.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicant.