THE ELECTRODEPOSITION OF PLATINUM ONTO A CONDUCTING CERAMIC, EBONEX(R)

The deposition of Pt metal onto Ebonex (R) from Pt 5Q electroplating s olution at 368 K has been investigated. It has been demonstrated that the nucleation of Pt centres on the as-supplied Ebonex (R) occurred no n-uniformly and was a very slow process. This appeared to result from a layer of TiO2 on the surface and without pretreatment of the Ebonex (R), the quality of the deposits was poor. A number of pretreatments w ere studied. The preferred procedure employed physical abrasion and po lishing followed by a chemical etch in aqueous NaF/HCl/CH3COOH and thi s led to more uniform nucleation as well as good quality Pt deposits w hich were adherent, coherent and metallic in appearance. (C) 1997 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.