Fengfan CAS 18880-36-9 DPS Copper electroplating additive N N-Dimethyl-dithiocarbumyl Propyl Sulfonate

Product Overview

Acid copper baths are built from several additives that each do one job. A suppressor, usually a polyethylene glycol or a similar polyether, adsorbs on the surface and slows deposition where the current density is highest. A non-ionic surfactant lowers surface tension so the bath reaches into recesses and blind holes. An aminic polymer levels the surface. The brightener decides the final lustre and the grain of the deposit, and it is the component most often changed when a bath needs more shine rather than more throwing power. This product is that brightener: a solid organic sulphur compound supplied as a white crystal under the name DPS, with an assay of ≥90% and a solubility of 22% in water at 20 °C. Arriving as a crystal rather than as a liquid concentrate means you weigh what the bath needs instead of accepting whatever water content the drum happens to carry, and a measured stock solution lets you dose at milligram-per-litre levels without guessing. The crystal also has a high melting point, between 252 and 263 °C, so it stays a free-flowing solid through storage and transport instead of fusing into a lump in a warm warehouse. The solution you make from it is acidic, which is worth knowing both when you prepare the stock and when you add it to a bath. Most of what we ship goes to plating shops that run acid copper as a base layer under nickel and chrome, to electronic plating houses working on circuit boards, to formulators who build their own brightener packages, and to distributors who keep stock for local lines. Questions about addition levels are answered against your own bath — copper concentration, acid level, temperature and current density — because the process of electroplating copper from an acid bath is sensitive to all four.

Specifications

Deposit Quality & Performance

• Bright, reflective copper. The immediate job: the deposit comes out with the lustre decorative work needs before nickel and chrome go on.
• Ductility as well as shine. Bright copper that cracks when a part is bent is scrap. This brightener is chosen where the copper has to stay flexible through crimping, forming and solder reflow.
• The last adjustment in the process of electroplating copper. Because it acts at the top of the additive stack, a small change in concentration shows up quickly on the panel — which makes it a fast way to correct a bath that has drifted dull, and an easy way to overshoot if it is added blind.
• Effective at milligram-per-litre levels. Additions are measured in mg/L, so the balance of suppressors and levellers around it barely moves.
• Easy to meter. A stock solution turns a milligram-per-litre dose into a volume you can measure with a cylinder, instead of weighing powder on a balance for every addition.
• Consistent active content. An assay of ≥90% keeps the dose you calculate close to the dose the bath receives, so a correction behaves the way the last one did.

Formulation Pairing

Acid copper chemistry is a balance of opposing effects, and a brightener only performs when the rest of the package is in place. The suppressor adsorbs on the surface and slows deposition; the wetting agent lowers surface tension so recesses fill; the leveller flattens the profile. Push the brightener without enough suppressor and the layer turns stressed and brittle. Add suppressor without adjusting the brightener and the deposit goes dull. The two have to be trimmed together. Because it is a sulphur compound, it can be combined with other sulphur compounds in the same package, and the ratio between them is what shapes the response curve of a metal plating process. It is equally compatible with polyethylene glycols, non-ionic surfactants and aminic polymers, and a combination with dyestuffs is possible where colour and appearance need to be controlled separately from grain refinement. Ratios are bath-specific: the same brightener behaves differently at a different copper concentration, acid level, temperature or current density, so confirm the split against your own formulation rather than copying a recipe from another line. One boundary is worth stating plainly — this is an electrolytic additive. It is formulated for baths where rectifier current drives deposition, and it is not designed for an electroless plating process, where a reducing agent in the bath does that work and the additive package is built on a different basis. If you are running electroless copper, tell us and we will point you to the right product instead. If you are building a new acid copper bath rather than adjusting an established one, our FI-970 bright acid copper process packages a carrier, a wetter and a brightener together as a starting system; the additive described here is what to reach for when an existing bath needs its top-end response corrected.

Applications

• Decorative hardware and sanitary ware. Taps, mixers, hinges and handles, where acid copper electroplating builds the smooth base that nickel and chrome sit on.
• Electronic plating on printed circuit boards. Panel and pattern copper plating, where a fine grain and a ductile deposit matter for through-hole coverage and for surviving thermal stress during assembly.
• Connectors, terminals and lead frames. Stamped parts that are bent after plating, so the copper has to bend with them instead of cracking at the fold.
• Automotive trim and fittings. Decorative copper on parts that will be handled, washed and exposed, where a consistent finish across a batch matters as much as the finish on one part.
• Plating on plastics. Once a moulded part carries its conductive layer, often laid down by an electroless plating process, acid copper builds the bulk of the coating before the decorative top coats go on.
• Job shops with a mixed order book. One brightener that covers a spread of decorative and technical parts, instead of a different additive for each family of work.

Bath Make-up & Control

1. Check the bath first. Copper and acid concentration, temperature and current density should be where your metal plating process normally runs them; a brightener cannot correct a bath that is out of balance somewhere else.
2. Make a stock solution. Dissolve the crystal in water to a strength you can meter accurately, and keep the stock covered between additions so its concentration does not drift.
3. Add within the working range. The bath concentration is 10-100 mg/L; where you sit inside that window depends on the deposit you want, and we will help you narrow it against your own panels.
4. Add slowly, into a moving bath. The concentrate is acidic, so pour it into a circulating or air-agitated bath rather than into a still corner where it can shock the surface locally.
5. Prove the change before you commit. Run a Hull cell panel or a trial part and read the brightness across the current density band — the same discipline you would apply to any change in the process of electroplating copper. A dull low-current end usually supports the leveller or brightener balance rather than to a bigger dose.
6. Write it down. Keep the batch number and the quantity added in the bath log, so the next adjustment starts from a known point instead of a guess.

Packing & Delivery

Technical Support & Model Matching

Choosing the right match is where most sourcing decisions stall. As a trading supplier, we keep one point of contact from first enquiry to after-sales: tell us what you are making and the conditions you work under, and we shortlist the closest matches from our supplier network, compare specifications and arrange samples before you commit to a bulk order. If something does not behave as expected, we work with the supplying partner on the cause and a practical fix, and stay with the case until it is settled. Email, WeChat or WhatsApp enquiries get a reply within 24 hours.

FAQ