Electrolytic purification of copper: blister copper (99% copper) is preliminarily made into a thick plate as an anode, pure copper is used as a thin plate as a cathode, and a mixed solution of sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and copper sulfate (CuSO4) is used as an electrolyte. After electrification, copper dissolves from the anode into copper ions (Cu) and moves toward the cathode. After reaching the cathode, electrons are obtained and pure copper (also called electrolytic copper) is precipitated at the cathode. Impurities in blister copper, such as iron and zinc, which are more active than copper, dissolve into ions (Zn and Fe) along with copper. Since these ions are less likely to precipitate than copper ions, it is possible to prevent these ions from being deposited on the anode by appropriately adjusting the potential difference during electrolysis. Impurities such as gold and silver, which are inactive than copper, are deposited at the bottom of the electrolytic cell. The copper plate produced in this way, called “electrolytic copper”, is of extremely high quality and can be used to make electrical products. Precipitated at the bottom of the electrolyzer, called “anode mud”, which is rich in gold and silver, is very expensive, and has great economic value after being taken out and processed. The electrolytic copper is further processed to produce an extremely fine electrolytic copper powder. Electrolytic copper powder is a light red dendritic powder that is easily oxidized in a humid space and soluble in hot sulfuric acid or nitric acid. Electrolytic copper powder use: widely used in diamond tools, electric carbon products, friction materials, conductive inks and other powder metallurgy products.
