Physicochemical model for choosing complexes for chromium-plating solutions based on Cr(III) compounds

A prognostic physicochemical model for choosing complexes for chromium-plating solutions is constructed on the basis of a combination of the thermodynamic principles and data on the kinetics of some electrochemical reactions. It is shown that high-quality chromium coating can be produced from solutions of Cr(III) complexes, whose logarithm of stability constants ranges from 10 to 20, and the logarithm of stability constants of Cr(II) complexes formed in electrolysis ranges from 7 to 10. The influence of the nature of ligands on chromium electrodeposition is studied. Using the model proposed, a chromium-plating solution based on a chromium(III) malonate complex is developed. This solution makes it possible to produce high-quality coatings in a wide interval of current densities.