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Dopant is an additive that seamlessly integrates a ceramic phase secondary material into the plating bath which produces an oxide dispersion strengthened, nano-reinforced coating.
About
Cirrus Dopant™ is so effective because it seamlessly integrates secondary particles into metal coatings which improve the material in three ways: oxide dispersion strengthening, grain refinement, and pre-stressing. Dopant™ is an additive that introduces a ceramic phase secondary material to the plating bath that is stabilised by the electro-chemistry of the bath. No powder-mixing is required, nor handling of nano-particles. The stabilised particles then co-deposit into the metal coating. The particles are uniformly distributed, usually <20 nm in size, and make up <1% of the coating material by weight, creating a composite metal-ceramic matrix structure called a “nano-composite coating”. The size, distribution, and material properties of these nano-particles are responsible for the improvement of the mechanical, corrosion or other desired properties of the coatings. Dopant™ is proven effective across a wide range of metal coatings, both electro-plated and electroless. The image attached is a high-resolution transmission electron microscope image of a thin nano-composite gold coating that has been strengthened with Cirrus titania nano-particles. Dopant™ is in use in major industry segments around the world, including electronics, injection moulding, and aerospace.