The World of Pure Aluminum Coatings

Pure aluminum is of special interest for its improved corrosion resistance, high ductility, high electronegativity and low atomic weight for surface finishing solutions. Dense, thick and very pure aluminum (typically greater than 99.99% pure) can be deposited as a protective coating via the AlumiPlate® Aluminum Electroplating process. This electrodeposition process has attractive characteristics such as tight control capability, ability to throw into holes and can be used to build pure aluminum layers hundreds of micrometers thick.

Aluminum platings used as a surface finishing solution can enhance and protect the surface of other structural metals and composites to improve the material’s performance in the end-use environment. The pure aluminum coating can be heat treated to form intermetallics with high wear, abrasion and a working temperature envelope above 900 °C.

What Is Pure Aluminum?

Pure aluminum is a soft, ductile and non-magnetic metal that belongs to the boron group and is identified by atomic number 13 because its atoms contain 13 electrons and 13 protons. To be considered pure aluminum, the metal needs to consist of 99% aluminum. Pure aluminum properties include an electrical conductivity that is twice as high when compared to copper and thermal conductivity that is about three times greater than steel, making it an ideal material for heating and cooling applications. It is also characterized by its high reflectivity and resistance to oxidation.

Harnessing High-Purity Aluminum Properties

High-purity aluminum has unique attributes that make it attractive for a variety of uses across many industries. Its practicality, cheap manufacturing and abundance are just a few examples of why it is so commonly used. Pure aluminum properties include:

  • Corrosion Protection/Prevention
  • Electrical and Thermal Conductivity
  • Malleability and Ductility
  • Heat Resistance
  • Low Hydrogen Embrittlement Risk
  • Anodization
  • Superconductivity
  • Reflectivity and Emissivity
  • Thermal Conductivity
  • Environmentally friendly (can be recycled)
  • Research programs (nuclear devices, accelerators, high energy physics)

If you think high purity aluminum plating technology can help with your engineering project, get a quote from our team and start seeing results.

Where Is Pure Aluminum Found in Daily Life?

Other than the can of your diet soda, pure aluminum can be found in powerlines, beer kegs, window frames, vehicles and kitchen utensils. When you fly on an airplane, you are most likely to have benefited from pure aluminum. Most commercial aircraft bodies are fabricated from clad aluminum. Clad aluminum is made by roll-forming a high-purity aluminum alloy onto higher-strength structural aluminum. In fact, one Boeing-747 consists of 147,000 pounds of aluminum.

Engineered components must increasingly survive harsher environments or simply last longer in normal use by today’s standards while complying with environmental regulations. Pure aluminum offers a 100% recyclable and non-toxic protective option for steel, copper, magnesium, aluminum alloys and composites while being a productive heat conductor.

Electroplated aluminum outlasts other metal, organic and inorganic coatings in severe environments (sodium chloride or sulfur dioxide) and can easily withstand temperatures of up to 400 °C.

Pure Aluminum — a Formula for Countless Applications

Because aluminum properties are so versatile, high purity aluminum has many application possibilities. Pure Al excels as a surface finishing solution due to its non-toxicity and ability to act as an anti-corrosion agent, allowing products to sustain higher temperatures and increasing their lifespan. AlumiPlate’s research into pure aluminum properties has opened up new application possibilities, and many of these are just beginning to make an impact across a wide range of industries. Large companies are now relying on AlumiPlate’s aluminum electroplating to protect components in aggressive environments or exposed to high temperatures.

Pure Aluminum Plating Research

AlumiPlate offers researchers and academicians a new tool for applications that require controlled deposits of very pure aluminum. Electroplating does not suffer from limitations of other aluminizing processes. The pure aluminum (AI) plating process results in ultra-high purity deposits of typically more than 99.99% Al, free of inclusions and impurities. The deposition rate is much higher than that of vacuum deposits (such as chemical vapor or physical vapor deposition). Furthermore, the thickness of pure aluminum (AI) coatings is not self-limiting and allows for build-up of very thick layers. Controlled deposits of 100, 200, 500, 1000 micrometers (or more) are possible.

Unlike line-of-sight processes, electroplating provides excellent covering power for uniform plating of small or complex geometries. Components with high aspect ratios or requiring precision deposits are plated with supplementary anodes, another advantage of electroplating. Inside diameters and even small thru-holes can be coated with pure aluminum. 

AlumiPlate has invested in the latest periodic-pulse-reverse (PPR) rectifiers and automation technology. The aluminum plating structure can be tailored to specific requirements for purity, morphology, roughness and uniformity by modifying the waveform profile of the alternating current. The waveform can be varied in almost an infinite number of ways, allowing for the ultimate degree of control and customization of the resultant deposit. The automated plating process controls and records critical parameters. These process data represent an invaluable tool for further analysis and optimization for designed experiments in pure AI research.

AlumiPlate staff covers multiple engineering branches and has the knowledge and experience to develop unique solutions for your unique research need. Our mechanical, chemical, plating, and material engineers will collaborate with you to create a development path and a plating solution for your application. Contact us for more information or to discuss your application in more detail.

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