Method for electrodeposition on a conductive particulate substrate

• US 10,443,144 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2015
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Original Assignee: BAE Systems Plc
• Inventors: Dyke, Amy Elizabeth, Dunleavy, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Rufo, Louis J
• Application Number:
  US15/502,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20170241034A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,700 Days
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/002 Cell separation, e.g. membranes, diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 21/10 Agitating of electrolytes; Moving of racks
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 3/20 of iron
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/009 Deposition of ferromagnetic material
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/006 Nanoparticles

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of electrodepositing a metal on an electrically conductive particulate substrate. There is provided a method of electrodepositing a metal on an electrically conductive particulate substrate comprising the steps of: (i) providing a cathode; (ii) providing an anode formed from the metal to be electrodeposited; (iii) providing the substrate, cathode and anode within an electrodeposition bath comprising an electrolyte; and (iv) providing a voltage between said anode and cathode causing metal ions to flow from the anode to the cathode, wherein a separator is provided between the anode and the cathode.

Claims

1. A method of electrodepositing a metal on an electrically conductive particulate substrate comprising the steps of:

providing a cathode that is distinct from the particulate substrate;

providing an anode formed from the metal to be electrodeposited;

providing a separator between the anode and the cathode, the separator being a semipermeable membrane that is porous to an electrolyte and to the metal ions, but not to the particulate substrate, the separator being configured to maintain the particulate substrate within a substrate volume proximate to the cathode;

providing the particulate substrate within the substrate volume at a concentration that is in a range of from 0.0001 vol % to 5 vol %, where vol % refers to a percentage of the substrate volume that is occupied by the particulate substrate;

locating the substrate, cathode and anode within an electrodeposition bath comprising the electrolyte; and

applying a voltage between said anode and cathode, thereby causing metal ions to flow from the anode to the cathode.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has an average longest dimension of less than 10 mm.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is a nano-scaled carbon particulate.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising applying agitation using at least one agitation device, thereby preventing particle agglomeration.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electrodeposited metal is a ferromagnetic metal.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising using a magnetic field to capture magnetic metal coated particulate substrate from the electrodeposition bath.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the particulate substrate comprises non-electrically conductive particles coated with electrically conductive coatings.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is implemented as a batch process.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the captured substrate is an electrically conductive particulate comprising an electrodeposited metal thereon.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is implemented as a continuous process.