What's the difference between electroplating silver and silver plating?
Release date:
2020-05-14
What’s the difference between silver plating and electroplated silver? Silver plating is applied to prevent corrosion, enhance electrical conductivity, improve reflectivity, and boost aesthetic appeal. Due to these exceptional properties, it’s widely used in manufacturing industries such as electronics, instruments, meters, and lighting fixtures. That’s why some customers are a bit confused about the distinction between silver plating and electroplated silver—so, let us reveal the answer for you!
What’s the difference between silver plating and electroplated silver? Silver plating is applied to prevent corrosion, enhance conductivity, improve reflectivity, and boost aesthetic appeal. Due to these exceptional properties, it’s widely used in manufacturing industries such as electronics, instruments, meters, and lighting fixtures. That’s why some customers are a bit confused about the distinction between silver plating and electroplated silver—so, let us reveal the answer for you!
What's the difference between electroplating silver and silver plating? In terms of properties and applications, the differences are quite significant.
I. In terms of nature:
The silver plating is easy to polish, boasts excellent reflectivity, and exhibits superior thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and weldability. Silver-plated coatings have outstanding electrical performance and remarkable reflectivity, making them commonly used in applications requiring corrosion resistance.
II. In terms of usage:
Silver plating was initially used primarily for decorative items and tableware, but recently its applications have been expanding—particularly in aircraft and electronic products. In the electronics industry, telecommunications equipment, and instrumentation manufacturing, silver plating is widely employed to reduce the electrical resistance of metal components and enhance their solderability. Silver-plated metal reflectors are also commonly used in searchlights and other types of reflectors. However, because silver atoms tend to diffuse easily and can slip along material surfaces, they are prone to forming "silver whiskers" in humid atmospheric conditions, potentially leading to short circuits. For this reason, silver-plated layers are not recommended for use on printed circuit boards.
Silver plating is widely used in manufacturing industries such as electrical appliances, instruments, meters, and lighting fixtures. Industries like electronics and instrumentation have also adopted cyanide-free silver plating. Plating solutions typically utilize thiosulfates, sulfites, thiocyanates, and ferrocyanides. To prevent discoloration of the silver coating, post-plating treatments are commonly performed—often including brightening, chemical and electrochemical passivation, or the deposition of precious metals, rare metals, or the application of protective overcoatings.
That’s all for today’s topic—“What’s the Difference Between Electroplated Silver and Silver Plating?” I hope my explanation was helpful. Don’t forget to follow Xuyang’s editor—we’ll see you again next time!
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