Silver-plated flatware

In electroplating, one metal is plated onto another, often less expensive, metal by electrolysis. This procedure is done for decorative purposes or to protect the underlying metal from corrosion. Silver-plated flatware, for example, consists of a thin coating of metallic silver on an underlying base of iron. In electroplating, the item to be plated is the cathode in an electrolytic cell. The electrolyte contains ions of the metal to be plated, which are attracted to the cathode, where they are reduced to metal atoms. 

Finally, alternatives exist to the use of silver in various materials and processes. These include substitution of aluminum and rhodium for silver in mirrors and other reflecting surfaces tantalum replacement of silver in surgical plates, pins, and sutures stainless steel as an alternative material to silver in the manufacture of table flatware and, in photography, film with reduced silver content (Reese 1991). 

For the electrochemical plating of silver, a 99.9% silver anode is used with an electrolyte composed of [Ag(CN)2] and other required additives. Silver should not come into direct contact with steel or severe corrosion can occur. Steel parts can be protected by first coating with copper or nickel. Silver coating is commonly used for flatware, hol-loware, jewelry, electrical, and mechanical applications. Chemical methods are available to apply silver as a coating to plastic or glass. 

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