Hierarchical Multilayer Gold–Nickel– Copper Electroplating System for Long- Term Preservation of Historical Silver Artifacts

Hierarchical Multilayer Gold–Nickel– Copper Electroplating System for Long- Term Preservation of Historical Silver Artifacts | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Hierarchical Multilayer Gold–Nickel– Copper Electroplating System for Long- Term Preservation of Historical Silver Artifacts Dr Mohammad tavana, Narges Sedaghat This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7985700/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Conventional gold electroplating techniques, widely used in electronic, decorative, and industrial applications, remain inadequate for achieving century-scale protection of silver- based heritage artifacts in humid or reactive atmospheres [1–3]. This study introduces a hierarchical multilayer electroplating system integrating cyanide copper, semi-bright and bright nickel, pure cyanide gold, and cobalt-enhanced hard gold. The process was applied to the silver components of the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, Iraq [4,5]. The multilayer architecture functions as a metallurgical protection system, engineered for adhesion, diffusion resistance, and mechanical endurance. Advanced characterization via SEM/EDS, AFM, XRD, microhardness, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy confirmed excellent surface integrity, corrosion resistance, and a predicted lifetime exceeding 100 years [6–8]. Finite-element modeling verified uniform potential distribution across 4 × 1 × 1 m industrial baths. The system demonstrated a 10⁴-fold improvement in electrochemical impedance and threefold hardness enhancement relative to conventional coatings [9,10]. This methodology establishes a global benchmark for preserving historical metal artifacts. Materials Engineering multilayer electroplating cobalt hard gold silver conservation diffusion barrier long-term stability heritage technology transfer Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7985700","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":537282659,"identity":"d21153f1-9a4f-4db2-b412-05ac158c3671","order_by":0,"name":"Dr Mohammad tavana","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABLElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFACHjDJ2ADlytn3NyQ+AInzEdTCBuEaG0gceGwAEmcjVkviBobEZxIgFi4tuu29Bz/dzLGTbZBvfibxc4edsTnD4bTKrzl2MmwMzA8f3cDUYnbmXLJ07rZk4wY2NjPJ3jPJcpbNbWm3ZbclAx3GZmycg0XLjRwDoBbmRKDDjA1425iNGQ6cSbstuY0ZqIWHTRq7FuPfudvqgVrYPxv+bQMyDuR/K5bcVo9PixnQlsNALTyGj3nbDiduOJCQxvhx22HcWs6cMbPO3XbcuI0tp/CxbNtxY8kZB5KlGbcd52FjxuGX4z3Gt3O3Vcv2Mx/fcPBtW7UcP39D4sef26rt+dmbHz7GogUOUGKBGRxZzHiUYwDGH6SoHgWjYBSMguEOAOMZZYs6X20AAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Faculty of Engineering, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"Dr","firstName":"Mohammad","middleName":"","lastName":"tavana","suffix":""},{"id":537282660,"identity":"a8c95b12-7c8a-44a4-ba2b-e05bdc2d4aff","order_by":1,"name":"Narges Sedaghat","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kashan university","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Narges","middleName":"","lastName":"Sedaghat","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-30 06:26:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7985700/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7985700/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":94824309,"identity":"b2a62a79-a71b-4dd5-8822-1c07f8f6dcad","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-31 06:48:49","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":238245,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"A7A6659EwithDeclarations.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7985700/v1_covered_f2cf0e33-6e8a-4a66-a591-fa4140be243f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eHierarchical Multilayer Gold–Nickel–\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCopper Electroplating System for Long-\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTerm Preservation of Historical Silver Artifacts\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Imam Hossein University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"multilayer electroplating, cobalt hard gold, silver conservation, diffusion barrier, long-term stability, heritage technology transfer","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7985700/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7985700/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eConventional gold electroplating techniques, widely used in electronic, decorative, and\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eindustrial applications, remain inadequate for achieving century-scale protection of silver-\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ebased heritage artifacts in humid or reactive atmospheres [1–3]. This study introduces a\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ehierarchical multilayer electroplating system integrating cyanide copper, semi-bright and\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ebright nickel, pure cyanide gold, and cobalt-enhanced hard gold. The process was applied to\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ethe silver components of the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, Iraq [4,5].\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe multilayer architecture functions as a metallurgical protection system, engineered for\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eadhesion, diffusion resistance, and mechanical endurance. Advanced characterization via\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSEM/EDS, AFM, XRD, microhardness, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003econfirmed excellent surface integrity, corrosion resistance, and a predicted lifetime\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eexceeding 100 years [6–8]. Finite-element modeling verified uniform potential distribution\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eacross 4 × 1 × 1 m industrial baths. The system demonstrated a 10⁴-fold improvement in\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eelectrochemical impedance and threefold hardness enhancement relative to conventional\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ecoatings [9,10]. 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