umicoreElectroplatingRUTHUNA® 490 BLACK RUTHENIUM ELECTROLYTE Dark Ruthenium Coatings Without Strike Gold Plating RUTHUNA® 490 Black is a neutral electrolyte for brightnessretaining, dark grey to anthracite coatings. The black ruthenium electrolyte is easy to operate and has a good colour constancy. RUTHUNA® 490 Black permits the direct plating of copper, nickel, brass or bronze. This means that strike gold plating or strike plating with palladium or palladium alloys is not necessary, which leads to enormous precious metal cost savings. The black ruthenium electrolyte is suitable for decorative applications, above all in the clothing industry. It can be used for rack and barrel plating operations. Due to its high abrasion resistance, subsequent lacquering is not necessary, reducing the number of further process steps. Its positive features make themselves apparent even at a low ruthenium concentration of just 2 g/l. Applications • Accessories in the clothing industry • Baby clothing • Car interiors Advantages • Neutral black ruthenium electrolyte • Simple bath maintenance • Dark grey to anthracite coatings • For decorative applications • High abrasion resistance • No lacquer finish is needed • Good colour constancy • Direct deposition on bronze or nickel possible • No intermediate layers of expensive palladium or gold necessary • Enormous precious metal cost savings • Suitable for rack and ba

Electrolyte characteristicsCoating characteristics Electrolyte type Metal content pH value Operating temperature Current density range Plating speed Anode material Coating Purity Colour of deposit Brightness Black ruthenium 99 wt. % Ru Grey to anthracite (black) Bright Influence of Blackening Agent (RUTHUNA® 490 Black) Degree of Blackening [L*-value] Amount Blackening Agent [ml] —Dependence of degree of blackening on amount of blackening agent used —Dependence of deposition speed (at 1.0 A/dmP) on amount of blackening agent used Umicore Galvanotechnik GmbH Klarenbergstrasse 53-79 Technical...