Electroplating is a component that ensures reduced tarnishing by giving a finished and protective coating of metal on the element that has been created. The process used for this procedure is electrolysis. It does so by layering a thin protective coating on a durable and wear-resistant metal. This is usually done to the surface of a conducting metal. As such, it provides an overall protective feature attached to the metal that has been provided. In such a way, it gives a more cutting-edge quality to the material that has been electroplated. Apart from the usual electroplating features, it ensures a lack of rust formation and reduces the reactivity of metals such as iron. This, for example, helps iron to be used in food containers.
Moreover, it can be used as an adhesive to ensure that the materials stick closer together. Magnesium is one such metal that has been used as a coat and should continue to be used. It has multiple benefits, each of which has been outlined in the upcoming paragraphs.
When compared to other metals, it has been found that magnesium is the lightest of them all. Being the most lightweight ensures that it is both malleable and sturdy enough to be moulded into the needed shape while retaining the necessary strength not to be brittle. With magnesium alloys providing different features when combined with other metals, it contains its lightweight nature; this, coupled with its ability to be corrosion resistant, allows it to be used in fields such as aerospace machinery to phone casings. It can combine use with aesthetics is also an added benefit of using magnesium as an electroplating metal.
With plastics taking over the world and environmental conservation coming into play, magnesium is the perfect substitute to ensure similar features are upgraded with a recyclable capability. Due to its low density, it can rival plastics in regards to being light in weight. Moreover, it brings in the bonus of being greater in strength and rigidity with preexisting electromagnetic (EMI) shielding. Bringing in the fact that it has high electrical and thermal conductivity, it has an all-around feature that brings development and sustainability together.
Moreover, with the prices for magnesium going up by 4.55 per cent monthly, people have started realising the value that the metal brings. Such a steady increase proves how much magnesium has begun to impact industries, moreover, with an overall increase of 184.83 per cent compared to last year. People, organisations, and corporations can be assumed to have started taking advantage of magnesium's multipurpose use. As such, magnesium would serve as one of the best metals to be used for electroplating due to its various benefits. Though more research needs to be done on the metal and its alloys, the information that has been acquired to date ensures that it provides almost all features necessary for quality electroplating.
Link to the numbers used - https://tradingeconomics.com/commodities