RUTHUNA® 490 Black Ruthenium Electrolyte
Dark ruthenium coatings without strike gold plating
RUTHUNA® 490 Black is a neutral electrolyte for brightness retaining, dark grey to anthracite coatings. The black ruthenium electrolyte is easy to operate and has a good colour constancy.
RUTHUNA® 490 Black permits the direct plating of copper, nickel, brass or bronze. This means that strike gold plating or strike plating with palladium or palladium alloys is not necessary, which leads to enormous precious metal cost savings.
The black ruthenium electrolyte is suitable for decorative applications, above all in the clothing industry. It can be used for rack and barrel plating operations. Due to its high abrasion resistance, subsequent lacquering is not necessary, reducing the number of further process steps. Its positive features make themselves apparent even at a low ruthenium concentration of just 2 g/l.
Electrolyte characteristics
Electrolyte type Neutral
Metal content 2 (1.8 - 2.2) g/l Ru
pH value 7.0 (6.5 - 9.0) at 65 °C
Operating temperature 65 (60 - 70) °C
Current density range 1.0 (0.5 - 3.0) A/dm²
Plating speed Approx. 0.02 μm/min at 1.0 A/dm²
Anode material Pt/Ti or MMO (type PLATINODE® 167 or 177)
Coating characteristics
Coating Black ruthenium
Purity 99 wt. % Ru
Colour of deposit Grey to anthracite (black)
Brightness Bright
Advantages
Neutral black ruthenium electrolyte
Simple bath maintenance
Dark grey to anthracite coatings
For decorative applications
High abrasion resistance
No lacquer finish is needed
Good colour constancy
Direct deposition on bronze or nickel possible
No intermediate layers of expensive palladium or gold necessary
Enormous precious metal cost savings
Suitable for rack and barrel
Applications
Accessories in the clothing industry
Baby clothing
Car interiors
