substrate is immersed in the plating bath the substrate surface catalyzes oxidation of the reducing agent this oxidation causes a release of electrons that in turn reduce metal platinum ions in the bath at the substrate surface these reduced metal ions are then deposited onto the substrate and over time generate a metal shell around the substrate chemical reduction of the platinum salt by the hydrazine results in the formation of only metallic platinum and highly volatile gaseous byproducts n 2 h 2 o and nh 3 which are removed from the plating bath by evaporation other bath constituents including n 2 h 4 h 2 o are also highly volatile and can be similarly removed through evaporation the bath contains no substances capable of accumulating in the container and suppressing the platinum plating process and creates no hazardous substances the plating composition is highly stable and does not require the addition of non volatile stabilizers accelerators or other chemical agents used to enhance plating properties also because no strong complexing agents are included or generated by the bath simple boiling of the bath is sufficient to precipitate virtually pure platinum from the aqueous solution the process is autocatalytic in that no catalyst separate from the aforementioned components is required to advance the platinum deposition onto catalytically active surfaces like base and noble metals alloys and graphite the bath is also capable of directly plating inactive surfaces like glass ceramics and polymers additionally the process is continuous and may be maintained for virtually an infinite time by merely replenishing each of the components of the.