Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: Homebrew PCBs

previous by date index next by date
previous in topic topic list next in topic

Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Re: HCl and H2O2 versus CuCl

From: Steve Greenfield <alienrelics@...>
Date: 2003-04-16

--- Adam Seychell <adam_seychell@...> wrote:
> rolanyang wrote:
-snip-
> > Here's another idea:
> > does anyone know if copper powder is cheap?
> > The reaction would likely go a lot faster
> > since the suface area of powder is drastically
> > greater than when using plain old scrap wire
> > or boards.
> >
>
>
> You can get copper powder from some art supplies, but its VERY
> expensive for what we are doing. I think they use it as pigments
> in paint, or coating surfaces. Its almost fine as flour and thus
> dangerous to breath in.
>
> You can react either, copper carbonate, copper(II) oxide (black
> pigment powder) or copper(II) hydroxide (bright blue powder for
> fungicides) with HCl and instantly get copper(II) chloride
> solution. The problem is none of these are easily/cheaply
> available as scrap copper in the quantities we need (1 kg of
> copper). Maybe they are, but I don't know of any.
> You can get few hundred grams at very high $/kg or buy 25 kg bag
> from an industrial supplier at low $/kg but you'll have ∗way∗ to
> much. Unfortunately there is no in-between.

See, now, you should check the links pages more often. Here are a
couple of links I'd posted there:

Flip Stick- Cupric Chloride
Meant for cleaning flues, this is a way to get Cupric Chloride for
etching from your hardware store.
http://www.herchem.com/Products/FSTICK.html

King County IMEX
Industrial Materials Exchanges. In King County, ie, Seattle, WA
area. Companies getting rid of surplus or waste chemicals and other
hazardous materials. Cheap or free.
http://www.metrokc.gov/hazwaste/imex/

More info on copper oxides:
http://www.reade.com/Products/Oxides/copper_oxide.html

Excerpt, should give some clue as to where to look for this:
∗ Typical Applications:
Cu2O is used in red ceramic porcelain glazes and red glasses. Also
a pigment for anti-fouling paints. CuO is used as a flux for CA
metallurgy, as an optical glass polishing agent, as a pigment, in
sweeting petroleum gases and in galvanic electrodes.

Copper powder pigment from an art store:
http://www.gamblincolors.com/materials/metals.html

Daniel Smith has metal powders for pigments:
http://www.danielsmith.com/dry-pigments.html

No idea of the actual alloy used or if it is "pure" copper.

This company sells copper powder for cold casting, electroplating,
and metal forming so the alloy would be a known quantity:
http://www.makin-metals.com/powders.html




=====
Steve Greenfield // Digital photography, scanning,
Polymorph Digital Photography // retouching, and photomorphing
253/318-2473 voice // to your specs.
polymorph@... //
http://www.polyphoto.com/ // Based in Tacoma, WA, USA

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
http://search.yahoo.com