Editing Electroplating (section)

==History==
[[File:Moritz Hermann von Jacobi 1856.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Boris Jacobi]] developed electroplating, [[electrotyping]], and [[galvanoplastic sculpture]] in [[Russia]].]]In pre-Columbian South America, the [[Moche culture|Moche]] independently developed electroplating technology without any [[Old World]] influences. The Moche used electricity derived from chemicals to [[Gilding|gild]] copper with a thin layer of gold. In order to start the electroplating process, the Moche first concocted a very corrosive and a highly acidic liquid solution in which they dissolved small traces of gold. Copper inserted into the resulting acidic solution acted both as a [[cathode]] and an [[anode]], generating the electric current needed to start the electroplating process. The gold ions in the solution were attracted to the copper anode and cathode and formed a thin layer over the copper, giving the latter the appearance of a solid gold object, even though gold only coated the outermost layer of the copper object. The Moche then allowed the acidic solution to boil slowly, causing a very thin layer/coating of gold to permanently coat the copper anode and cathode. This battery-less electroplating technique was developed around 500 CE by the Moche, 1,300 years before Europeans invented the same process.<ref>{{Cite book| title= Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 15,000 Years of Inventions and Innovations | author =  Emory Dean Keoke, Kay Marie Porterfield | year = 2009 | page = 98 | publisher = Infobase | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QIFTVWJH3doC&q=%5B%5BElectroplating%5D%5D+%E2%80%93+the+%5B%5BMoche+culture%7CMoche%5D%5D&pg=PA98 | isbn = 978-0816040520 }}</ref><ref>H. Lechtman, "A Pre-Columbian Technique for Electrochemical Plating of Gold and Silver on Copper Objects," Journal of Metals 31 (1979): 154–60</ref><ref>New perspectives on Moche Metallurgy: Techniques of Gilding Copper at Loma Negra, Northern Peru, Heather Lechtman, Antonieta Erlij, and Edward J. Barry [https://www.jstor.org/pss/280051 online abstract via ''www.jstor.org'']</ref>

Electroplating was independently invented in Europe by Italian chemist [[Luigi Valentino Brugnatelli]] in 1805. Brugnatelli used his colleague [[Alessandro Volta]]'s invention of five years earlier, the [[voltaic pile]], to facilitate the first electrodeposition. Brugnatelli's inventions were suppressed by the [[French Academy of Sciences]] and did not become used in general industry for the following thirty years. By 1839, scientists in [[United Kingdom|Britain]] and [[Russia]] had independently devised metal-deposition processes similar to Brugnatelli's for the copper electroplating of [[printing press]] plates.
[[File:Fragment of west barelief on St.Isaac cathedral.jpg|thumb|left|[[Galvanoplastic sculpture]] on [[St. Isaac's Cathedral]] in [[Saint Petersburg]]]]{{see also|Johann Wilhelm Ritter}}

Research from the 1930s had theorized that electroplating might have been performed in the [[Parthian Empire]] using a device resembling a [[Baghdad Battery]], but this has since been refuted; the items were fire-gilded using mercury.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-03-08|title=Debunking the So-Called "Baghdad Battery"|url=https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/03/08/debunking-the-so-called-baghdad-battery/|access-date=2021-10-10|website=Tales of Times Forgotten|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Boris Jacobi]] in Russia not only rediscovered galvanoplastics, but developed [[electrotyping]] and [[galvanoplastic sculpture]]. Galvanoplastics quickly came into fashion in Russia, with such people as inventor [[Peter Bagrationi|Peter Bagration]], scientist [[Heinrich Lenz]], and science-fiction author [[Vladimir Odoyevsky]] all contributing to further development of the technology.  Among the most notorious cases of electroplating usage in mid-19th century Russia were the gigantic galvanoplastic sculptures of [[St. Isaac's Cathedral]] in [[Saint Petersburg]] and gold-electroplated [[dome]] of the [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in [[Moscow]], the third [[List of tallest Orthodox churches| tallest Orthodox church in the world]].<ref name="galteh">{{cite web|url=http://www.galteh.ru/article_galvanotehnika.html|title=The history of galvanotechnology in Russia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305183445/http://www.galteh.ru/article_galvanotehnika.html |archive-date=March 5, 2012 |language=ru}}</ref>

[[Image:Early Electro-Plating.jpg|thumb|left|Nickel plating]]

Soon after, [[John Wright (inventor)|John Wright]] of [[Birmingham]], England discovered that [[potassium cyanide]] was a suitable [[electrolyte]] for gold and silver electroplating.  Wright's associates, [[George Elkington]] and Henry Elkington were awarded the first patents for electroplating in 1840.  These two then founded the electroplating industry in [[Birmingham]] from where it spread around the world. The [[Woolrich Electrical Generator]] of 1844, now in [[Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum]], is the earliest electrical generator used in industry.<ref>Birmingham Museums trust catalogue, accession number: 1889S00044</ref> It was used by [[Elkington Silver Electroplating Works|Elkingtons]].<ref name="thomas">{{cite book|last1=Thomas|first1=John Meurig|title=Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and Place|date=1991|publisher=Hilger|location=Bristol|isbn=0750301457|page=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Beauchamp|first1=K. G.|title=Exhibiting Electricity|date=1997|publisher=IET|isbn=9780852968956|page=90}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hunt|first1=L. B.|title=The early history of gold plating|journal=Gold Bulletin|date=March 1973|volume=6|issue=1|pages=16–27|doi=10.1007/BF03215178|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The [[Norddeutsche Affinerie]] in [[Hamburg]] was the first modern electroplating plant starting its production in 1876.<ref>{{cite journal|doi = 10.1002/adem.200400403|title = Process Optimization in Copper Electrorefining|year = 2004|last1 = Stelter |first1=M.|journal = Advanced Engineering Materials|volume = 6|issue = 7|page=558|last2 = Bombach|first2 = H.| s2cid=138550311 }}</ref>

As the science of [[electrochemistry]] grew, its relationship to electroplating became understood and other types of non-decorative metal electroplating were developed. Commercial electroplating of [[nickel]], [[brass]], [[tin]], and [[zinc]] were developed by the 1850s. Electroplating baths and equipment based on the patents of the Elkingtons were scaled up to accommodate the plating of numerous large-scale objects and for specific manufacturing and engineering applications.

The plating industry received a big boost with the advent of the development of [[electric generator]]s in the late 19th century.  With the higher currents available, metal machine components, hardware, and [[automotive]] parts requiring corrosion protection and enhanced wear properties, along with better appearance, could be processed in bulk.

The two World Wars and the growing [[aviation]] industry gave impetus to further developments and refinements, including such processes as hard [[chromium plating]], [[bronze]] alloy plating, sulfamate nickel plating, and numerous other plating processes. Plating equipment evolved from manually-operated [[tar]]-lined wooden tanks to automated equipment capable of processing thousands of kilograms per hour of parts.

One of the American physicist [[Richard Feynman]]'s first projects was to develop technology for electroplating metal onto [[plastics|plastic]]. Feynman developed the original idea of his friend into a successful invention, allowing his employer (and friend) to keep commercial promises he had made but could not have fulfilled otherwise.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Feynman |title=Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! |date=1985 |chapter=Chapter 6: The Chief Research Chemist of the Metaplast Corporation|title-link=Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! }}</ref>