IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE ELECTRO-DEPOSITION OF NICKEL, AND IN ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF OR PLATED WITH THE SAME, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE ELECTRO-DEPOSITION OF OTHER METALS
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, &
:
Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE ELECTRO-DEPOSITION OF NICKEL,
AND IN ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF OR PLATED WITH THE SAME, WHICH
INVENTION IS PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE ELECTRO-DEPOSITION OF OTHER
METALS." A communication from abroad by Edward Weston, of Newark,
New Jersey, United States of America, Electrical Engineer.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd December 1878.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE
ELECTRO-DEPOSITION OF NICKEL, AND IN ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF OR PLATED
WITH THE SAME, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE ELECTRO-
DEPOSITION OF OTHER METALS." [A communication from abroad by Edward
Weston, of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America, Electrical Engineer.]
This Invention relates partly to the composition of solutions for employment in
the electro-deposition of nickel for electro-plating or electro-typing purposes and for
the production of malleable ductile nickel suitable for manufacture into solid nickel
articles.
As is well known nickel can be deposited in a condition more or less approaching
the reguline state, according to the nature of solution employed. Solutions cou-
posed of the double sulphate of nickel and ammonium, or of the double chloride of
nickel and ammonium, have heretofore been generally preferred as giving the best
results. Both of these solutions, under the action of the current, evolve more or
less hydrogen. A portion of the ammonium salt is decomposed, and the metal
deposited is always hard and tends to separate in laminae from the surface on which
it has been deposited. This tendency increases as the thickness of the deposit is.
Pri 71

page_text: increased. It is probable that the hardness of the deposited nickel is to some
extent owing to the presence of the hydrogen with which it is associated.
The deposit obtained from the double chloride has a peculiarly matted surface,
and is difficult to polish and extremely liable to tarnish on exposure to the air.
The deposit obtained from the double sulphate is much easier to polish, but is also
very hard and inflexible, and if thick is especially liable to separate in laminae
from the surface on which it is deposited. The solution of the double chloride of
nickel and ammonium is better adapted for coating iron with nickel than the
double sulphate solution, the double sulphate solution answering better for brass.
Both these solutions are gradually changed by use as electrolytes. Thus the
ammonium salt is decomposed by the action of the current, and free ammonia is
evolved. The solution becomes richer in nickel, and the amount of ammonium salt.
in the solution generally decreases. By these changes in the solution the qualities
of the deposited metal, both as to color, hardness, and flexibility, are gradually
changed. These changes, which involve serious difficulties in the management of
the solution during the act of electro-deposition, and which it is desirable to avoid,
even if only a thin deposit is required as in electro-plating, are almost insuperable
when a thick deposit is required as in the case of electro-typing.
This Invention, by which the difficulties above described are completely overcome,
consists chiefly of a constant nickel solution, that is to say, a perfect nickel solution,
which, although continuously used as an electrolyte, permanently preserves its
composition.
The deposition upon the cathode of sub-salts of nickel is wholly prevented when
the solution employed is made to contain a solution of boracic acid, or of compounds
of boracic acid. Borate of nickel, although insoluble in water, is very soluble in
many of the solutions of salts of nickel, and solutions of borate of nickel with salts
of nickel afford a perfectly reguline deposit, and are especially efficient for electro-
plating and electro-typing purposes for the following reasons:-
First. Because the deposit is of a beautiful white color, and is easy to polish,
and is very flexible and tough, and adheres firmly to the surface upon which it is
deposited.
Secondly. Because the continued use of the solution as an electrolyte does not
change its composition, and hence does not change the character of the deposit.
In compounding the said constant solution the proportions of the ingredients
are not arbitrary, but may be varied without changing the distinctive characteristic
of the solution, that of constancy. An excellent solution may be made by using
five parts of chloride of nickel and two parts of boracic acid. Another good solution
may be made by using three parts of sulphate of nickel and one part of boracic
acid. Either of these solutions may be slightly improved by the addition of caustic
potash, soda, or lime, until the precipitates formed cease to be dissolved. It will be
found that the metal obtained by electro-deposition from either of these solutions is
remarkably tough, coherent, flexible, and smooth, malleable and ductile.
By means of the said Invention, which is carried into practice by the addition of
boracic acid, either in its free or combined state, to any solution containing salts of
nickel which is to be employed in electro-deposition, I am enabled to effect the
electro-deposition of nickel with as much rapidity, ease, and certainty as the electro-
deposition of copper is effected, and I am thus enabled to produce considerable
masses of nickel by electrolysis.
It has not heretofore been practicable to make nickel electro-types because of the
nicety of adjustment necessary both in maintaining the composition of the solution
and in regulating the strength of the current employed. Constant care and watch-
fulness have had to be exercised to preserve the composition of the solution by the
addition of ingredients rendered necessary by the changes to which I have herein-
referred, in order to prevent the separation of the nickel from the mould. Owing to
the extreme slowness of the depositing operation, nickel electro-types, even when
by the exercise of great skill and watchfulness, they have been made have been too
costly for practical use. Furthermore, the deposit has always been brittle, and

page_text: could not be annealed without warping out of shape. By means of my said Inven-
tion all these difficulties are avoided, and the art of producing electro-types of
nickel and of depositing considerable masses of nickel upon black-leaded or metal-
lized surfaces is made perfectly practicable.
The power of boracic acid or its compounds to prevent the deposition of sub
salts of nickel on the cathode is so great that solutions which have not been hereto-
fore capable of practical use, because of the sub-salts of nickel deposited from them,
can be made practically effective solutions by the addition of boracic acid, even in
minute quantities. For example, the solution of the double salts of nickel and
potassium, the solution of the double sulphate of nickel and magnesium, and other
solutions of similar composition which heretofore could not be used, are converted
into excellent plating solutions by the addition of a small quantity of boracic
acid, either in its free or combined state.
While I prefer not to use ammonium salts in the composition of my solutions,
still solutions of double salts of nickel and ammonia can be materially improved
by the addition of boracic acid or its combinations.
By my Invention electro-types in nickel are as easily made as electro-types in.
copper. My deposit spreads rapidly and evenly over the plumbago or other con-
ducting surface of the mould, and the metal obtained from my solutions is ductile
and malleable, and when annealed can be drawn into wire or rolled and manu-
factured into various articles which are now usually made of brass or copper, results
which have never heretofore been obtained. The metal deposited by my solutions
adheres so firmly that it becomes possible to stamp, spin, or shape into a variety of
forms for various uses sheets of metal coated with nickel.
Even a small percentage of boracic acid may be applied with especially good
results to solutions of chloride of nickel with chloride of magnesiumi, chloride of
nickel with chloride of sodium, chloride of nickel with chloride of calcium, and to
all the solutions of either the chlorides or the sulphates of nickel with the chlorides
or sulphates of all the alkalies or alkaline earths; and further, that tartrates,
citrates, acetates, and other salts of the alkalies and alkaline earths may be advan-
tageously used for depositing solutions by the addition of boracic acid. In each.
case the percentage of boracic acid required to be added to these solutions is not
absolute, but may.be varied at will.
Another part of my Invention consists in adding boracic acid to solutions of
salts of iron, copper, cobalt, and in fact to all depositing solutions. In all cases it
tends to prevent the evolution of hydrogen and to cause the solution to yield by
electrolysis a superior reguline deposit.
י,
In practising electro-deposition from perfect solutions so called, it is only necessary
to adjust the current as to quantity and intensity in such a way that no hydrogen
appears at the cathode in order to obtain the best deposit.
By means of the said Invention a perfect nickel solution is for the first time
produced, and there is the same ease in managing the strength of the current for
effecting the electro-deposition of nickel from my solution that there is in managing
the current for effecting electro-deposition from perfect solutions of other metals.
My said Invention includes the manufacture from malleable ductile nickel
obtained by electro-deposition of solid nickel cutlery ware of all kinds, surgical
instruments and appliances, pens, and a variety of other articles formed either by
direct deposition of the nickel in suitable moulds, or from sheets or bars of nickel
deposited by the said process, and afterward worked up into the desired articles
by the operations of rolling, punching, drilling, spinning, stamping, or cutting
heretofore practised with other malleable metals.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd June 1879.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO THE
ELECTRO-DEPOSITION OF NICKEL, AND IN ARTICLES MANUFACTURED OF OR PLATED
WITH THE SAME, WHICH INVENTION IS PARTLY APPLICABLE TO THE ELECTRO-
DEPOSITION OF OTHER METALS." A communication from abroad by Edward Weston,
of Newark, New Jersey, United States of America, Electrical Engineer.
This Invention relates, first, to the composition of solutions for employment in
the electro-deposition of nickel for electro-plating or electro-typing purposes, and
for the production of malleable ductile nickel, suitable for manufacture into solid
nickel articles.
As is well known, nickel can be deposited in a condition more or less approaching
the reguline state, according to the nature of solution employed.
Solutions composed of the double sulphate of nickel and ammonium, or of the
double chloride of nickel and ammonium, have heretofore been generally preferred
as giving the best results. Both of these solutions under the action of the
current evolve more or less hydrogen. A portion of the ammonium salt is decom-
posed, and the metal deposited is always hard and tends to separate in laminae from
the surface on which it has been deposited. This tendency increases as the thickness
of the deposit is increased. It is probable that the hardness of the deposited nickel
is to some extent owing to the presence of the hydrogen with which it is associated.
The deposit obtained from the double chloride has a peculiarly matted surface,
and is difficult to polish and extremely liable to tarnish on exposure to the air. The
deposit obtained from the double sulphate is much easier to polish, but is also very
hard and inflexible, and if thick is especially liable to separate in laminae from the
surface on which it is deposited. The solution of the double chloride of nickel and
ammonium is better adapted for coating iron with nickel than the double sulphate
solution, the double sulphate solution answering better for brass..
Both of these solutions are gradually changed by use as electrolytes; thus, the
ammonium salt is decomposed by the action of the current, and free ammonia is
evolved. The solution becomes richer in nickel, and the amount of ammonium salt
in the solution gradually decreases. By these changes in the solution the qualities
of the deposited metal as to color, hardness, and flexibility are gradually changed.
These changes, which involve serious difficulties in the management of the solution
during the act of electro-deposition, and which it is desirable to avoid, even if only
a thin deposit is required, as in electro-plating, are almost insuperable when a thick
deposit is required as in the case of electro-typing.
This Invention, by which the above difficulties are completely overcome, consists
chiefly in the production and use of a constant nickel solution, that is to say, a
perfect nickel solution, which, although continuously used as an electro-lyte, per-
manently preserves its composition.
This Invention has been perfected by the discovery that the deposition upon the
cathode of sub-salts of nickel is entirely prevented when the solution employed is
made to contain a solution of boracic acid, or of compounds of boracic acid. And
by the further discovery that borate of nickel, although insoluble in water, is very
soluble in many of the solutions of salts of nickel, and that solutions of borate of
nickel with salts of nickel afford a perfectly reguline deposit, and are especially
efficient for electro-plating and electro-typing purposes, for the following reasons,
that is to say :-
First. Because the deposit is of a beautiful white color, and is easy to polish,
and is very flexible and tough, and adheres firmly to the surface upon which it is
deposited.

page_text: Secondly. Because the continued use of the solution as an electrolyte does not
change the composition, and hence does not change the character of the deposit.
In compounding the said constant solution the proportions of the ingredients are
not arbitrary, but may be varied without changing the distinctive characteristic of
the solution, that of constancy. An excellent solution may be made by using five
parts of chloride of nickel and two parts of boracic acid. Another good solution
may be made by using three parts of sulphate of nickel and one part of boracic
acid. Either of these solutions may be slightly improved by the addition of caustic
potash, soda, or lime until the precipitates formed cease to be dissolved. It will be
found that the metal obtained by electro-deposition from either of these solutions is
remarkably tough, coherent, flexible, and smooth, malleable and ductile.
By this Invention, which is carried into practice by the addition of boracic acid,
either in its free or combined state, to any solution containing salts of nickel which
is to be employed in the art of electro-deposition, I am enabled to effect the electro-
deposition of nickel with as much rapidity, ease, and certainty as the electro-
deposition of copper is effected, and I am thus enabled to produce considerable
masses of nickel by electrolysis.
It has not heretofore been practicable to make nickel electro-types because of
the nicety of adjustment necessary both in maintaining the composition of the
solution and in regulating the strength of the current employed. Constant care and
watchfulness have had to be exercised to preserve the composition of the solution
by the addition of ingredients rendered necessary by the changes to which I
have herein referred, in order to prevent the separation of the nickel from the
mould. By reason of the extreme slowness of the depositing operation, nickel
electro-types, even when by the exercise of great skill and watchfulness they have
been made, have been too costly for practical use. Furthermore, the deposit has
always been brittle and could not be annealed without warping out of shape. By
this Invention all of these difficulties are avoided, and the art of producing electro-
types of nickel, and of depositing considerable masses of nickel upon black-leaded or
metallized surfaces is made perfectly practicable.
The power of boracic acid or its compounds to prevent the deposition of sub-salts
of nickel on the cathode is so great that solutions which have not been heretofore
capable of practical use, because of the sub-salts of nickel deposited from them, can
be made practically effective solutions by the addition of boracic acid, even in
minute quantities. For example, the solution of the double salts of nickel and
potassium, the solution of the double sulphate of nickel and magnesium, and
other solutions of similar composition which heretofore could not be used, are con-
verted into excellent plating solutions by the addition of a small quantity of boracic
acid, either in its free or combined state.
While I prefer not to use ammonium salts in the composition of my solutions,
still solutions of double salts of nickel and ammonia can be materially improved
by the addition of boracic acid or its combinations.
By this Invention electro-types in nickel are as easily made as electro-types in
copper. My deposit spreads rapidly and evenly over the plumbago or other con-
ducting surface of the mould, and the metal obtained from my solutions is ductile
and malleable, and when annealed can be drawn into wire or rolled and manu-
factured into various articles which are now usually made of brass or copper, results
which have never heretofore been obtained.
The metal deposited by my solutions adheres so firmly that it becomes possible
to stamp, spin, or shape into a variety of forms for various uses sheets of metal
coated with nickel.
Even a small percentage of boracic acid may be applied with especially good
results to solutions of chloride of nickel with chloride of magnesium, chloride of
nickel with chloride of sodium, chloride of nickel with chloride of calcium, and to all
of the solutions of either the chlorides or the sulphates of nickel with the chlorides
or sulphates of all the alkalies or alkaline earths; and furthermore, tartrates,

page_text: citrates, acetates, and other salts of the alkalies and alkaline earths may be advan-
tageously used for depositing solutions by the addition of boracic acid.
In each case the percentage of boracic acid required to be added to these solutions
is not absolute, but may be varied at will.
Another part of this Invention consists in adding boracic acid to solutions of
salts of iron, copper, cobalt, and to other depositing solutions. In all cases it tends
to prevent the evolution of hydrogen and to cause the solution to yield by electro-
lysis a superior reguline deposit.
.
In the process of electro-deposition from perfect solutions so called, it is only
necessary to adjust the current as to quantity and intensity in such a way that no
hydrogen appears at the cathode in order to obtain the best deposit.
By this Invention a perfect nickel solution is for the first time produced, and
there is the same ease in managing the strength of the current for effecting the
electro-deposition of nickel from my solution that there is in managing the current
for effecting electro-deposition from perfect solutions of other metals.
The said Invention includes the manufacture from malleable ductile nickel
obtained by electro-deposition of solid nickel cutlery ware of all kinds, surgical instru-
ments and appliances, pens, and a variety of other articles formed either by direct
deposition of the nickel in suitable moulds, or from sheets or bars of nickel deposited
by this process and afterward worked up into the desired articles by the operations
of rolling, punching, drilling, spinning, stamping, or cutting heretofore practiced
with other malleable metals.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim for the electro-deposition of nickel the part of my Invention con-
sisting in,―
First. A constant nickel solution, that is to say, a nickel solution which in use
as an electro-lyte, permanently maintains its composition.
Secondly. A nickel solution containing salts of nickel and boracic acid, either in
its free or combined state.
Thirdly. A soluble salt of nickel and boron.
I also claim the manufacture of a malleable ductile deposit of nickel for the
purposes specified.
Also the use of boracic acid, either free or in its combined state, in depositing
solutions for the purpose specified.
Also the manufacture of solid nickel cutlery, surgical instruments and appliances,
pens, and other articles of ware, either by the application of my process to the
direct deposition of nickel in suitable moulds or by rolling, punching, drilling,
spinning, stamping, or cutting sheets or bars of malleable nickel deposited by the
said process.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirtieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.