Zero-waste Electroplating: Transforming the Chemistry of Silver Coating for a Sustainable Watch Industry
The process of electroplating, used to coat watch dials, is causing major environmental challenges. Together with a major swiss watchmaking company we're seeking sustainable, eco-friendly approaches for non-toxic, longer-lasting silver electroplating solutions. Let's collaborate to build a greener watchmaking industry.
#SustainableChemistry #GreenWatchIndustry #EcoFriendlyCoatings
✅ Completed 🏁 Winner Congratulations to Macias Sensors for winning the challenge!
🏆 Prize EUR 3,000 prize pool + joint pilot project + versatile collaboration models
🌎 Scope Open to students, researchers, industry experts as well as startups & companies
❓ Q&A Call 🌱 Innovate 2030 All SDGs This challenge is part of the INNOVATE2030 2030 program
Here you get important information and parameters that can help you find or alter a solution.
General Information
The open innovation challenge targets following directions for the development of solutions, which can be addressed independently.
Optimization
Details for the current process
The silver is dissolved in the bath as a cyanide salt. The solution also contains potassium hydroxide, potassium cyanide and potassium carbonate. A certain number of the watch dials pass through this bath. The main requirements for the dials are the thickness of the layer (3 microns), a certain ductility, hardness and color. The stability of the color and repeatability are key to the process.
Throughout usage, the carbonate content and density increase, affecting the coating performance and leading to the need for a new bath and the need to dispose of the old bath.
Goal
To address this issue, the solution could focus on optimizing the current process by upcycling the used bath. The approaches could, for instance, aim to recover the silver and other valuable metals from the spent bath or to improve the properties of the bath by adding new chemicals that can increase its performance and extend its lifetime.
New Alternatives Approach
Goal
Another possibility would be to explore alternative holistic concepts for silver electroplating that are sustainable, environmentally friendly and not based on cyanide.
- Which new innovative chemistry, substances or methods can be used for silver electroplating? How can they increase factors like, e.g., time of usage of baths, recyclability and sustainability?
- How could respective ways to upcycle the new baths for maximum circularity and sustainability look like?
For example, approaches for the use of non-toxic, biodegradable materials as solvents for the electroplating process could be investigated.
In the following you will find some helpful background informationto steer your solution in the right direction.