Surface Treatment Process Of Battery Connectors
Aug 20, 2025
The surface treatment process of battery connectors mainly focuses on three core goals: corrosion prevention, resistance reduction, and improving welding/contact performance. The mainstream processes and characteristics are as follows:
| Processing technology | Core function | Applicable scenarios |
| Nickel plating (Ni) | 1. Form a protective film to prevent oxidation of the substrate (such as copper); 2. Reduce contact resistance and improve conductivity stability; 3. Improve welding compatibility to facilitate subsequent assembly. |
Copper/iron-based connectors for consumer electronics (mobile phones, headphones), power tools, and small and medium-sized energy storage devices |
| Gold plating (Au) | 1. Extremely low resistance, long-term stable conductivity; 2. It has strong corrosion resistance and can adapt to harsh environments such as humidity and high temperature; 3. Long contact life, reducing performance degradation caused by wear and tear. |
Medical devices (blood glucose meters, ventilators), aerospace equipment, high-precision industrial instruments, and other scenarios that require extremely high reliability |
| Tin plating (Sn) | 1. Reduce the welding temperature to avoid damage to the substrate (such as thin copper sheets) due to high temperature; 2. The surface is easy to tin, simplifying the subsequent welding process; 3. Mild oxidation resistance, lower cost than nickel/gold plated |
Thin connectors that require low-temperature welding for small sensors, IoT devices (smart water/electricity meters), etc |
| Silver plating (Ag) | 1. The conductivity is better than nickel plating and close to gold plating; 2. Lower cost than gold plating, higher cost-effectiveness; 3. However, long-term exposure is prone to vulcanization and needs to be used in conjunction with a protective layer |
Connection pieces for high current scenarios (such as some power battery packs and industrial energy storage cabinets) |
| Passivation treatment | 1. Form a dense oxide film on the metal surface (such as Al ₂ O3 generated from aluminum connectors); 2. Significantly improve corrosion resistance, especially for aluminum materials that are prone to oxidation |
Aluminum based connectors for power batteries of new energy vehicles and large energy storage equipment |
