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Subject: Re: [Homebrew_PCBs] Muriatic acid + drug store hydrogen peroxide => cannot get cupric chloride??

From: DJ Delorie <dj@...>
Date: 2010-02-14

"awakephd" <a_wake@...> writes:
> I am following up on a comment in an earlier thread, to the effect
> that starting with 2 parts drug store hydrogen peroxide + 1 part
> Muriatic acid, one cannot ever get to the point of having CuCl2.

This is wrong - I did exactly that. I started with two parts 3%
(drugstore) peroxide and one part 37% (hardware store) HCl, added
copper, and now have a tank of gleaming green CuCl etchant.

It's not instant - I dumped the copper in the tank, turned on the air
bubbler, and waited - it took a few days to completely convert (3
liters solution, 0.5 lb copper). Probably would have gone faster if I
had put the copper in right away, but I didn't figure that part out
until a few days had past, and most of the H2O2 was decomposed, so I
had to pour more in.