A method includes: agitating base members that has been immersed in an electrolytic solution inside of an electroplating tank so as to flow in a circumference direction along an inner wall of the electroplating tank; and electroplating the base members flowing along the circumference direction in the electrolytic solution inside of the electroplating tank. The flow of the base members along the circumference direction is caused by a flow of magnetic media along the circumference direction in the electrolytic solution inside of the electroplating tank or is caused by rotation of an agitation unit provided at a bottom side of the electroplating tank. At least one of the base members touches a bottom cathode, and a base member positioned upward relative to the base member touching the bottom cathode is electrically connected to the bottom cathode via at least the base member touching the bottom cathode.

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing an electrocatalyst. The method may include forming a metal layer on a substrate, treating a substrate of the metal layer, and forming a catalyst layer on the metal layer by applying potential to an aqueous deposition solution including a nickel precursor, a copper precursor, a phosphorus precursor, and an additive, in which a molar ratio of the nickel precursor to the copper precursor may be greater than about 49:1. Accordingly, the present invention has an advantage in that the process of manufacturing the electrocatalyst may be simplified.

An electroplated article includes a base member that includes one or more base member-metallic elements; and an electroplated layer that is formed directly on the base member. The electroplated layer includes at least a first electroplated layer-metallic element and a second electroplated layer-metallic element that is different from the first electroplated layer-metallic element. The second electroplated layer-metallic element is a metallic element that is identical to at least one of the one or more base member-metallic elements. A ratio of the second electroplated layer-metallic element in the electroplated layer is continuously decreased as being away from the base member in the thickness direction of the electroplated layer. Alloy grains including at least the first and second electroplated layer-metallic elements are distributed in the electroplated layer such that a clear interface is not formed between the base member and the electroplated layer.

A method for producing a control element made of plastic with backlit imagery that is metallized on one side, particularly for a motor vehicle, and a machine that is configured to carry out the aforementioned method, as well as to a control element with backlightable imagery.

Forming a transition zone terminated superconformal filling in a recess includes: providing an electrodeposition composition including: a metal electrolyte including a plurality of metal ions, solvent, and suppressor; providing the article including: a field surface and the recess that includes a distal position and a proximate position; exposing the recess to the electrodeposition composition; potentiodynamically controlling an electric potential of the recess with a potential wave form; bifurcating the recess into an active metal deposition region and a passive region; forming a transition zone; decreasing the electric potential of the recess by the potential wave form; progressively moving the transition zone closer to the field surface and away from the distal position; and reducing the metal ions and depositing the metal in the active metal deposition region and not in the passive region to form the transition zone terminated superconformal filling in the recess of the substrate.

There is provided an inexpensive plated product, which can prevent the increase of the contact resistance of a silver-plating film and the change of the color of the surface thereof after reflow-treating a plated product wherein the silver-plating film is formed on a portion of the surface thereof and wherein a tin-plating film is formed on a portion of the other portion of the surface thereof, and a method for producing the same. The plated product is produced by a method including the steps of: forming a nickel-plating film 12 on a surface of a base material 10 of copper or a copper alloy; forming a silver-plating film 16 on a portion of a surface of the nickel-plating film 12, and forming a tin-plating film 20 on a portion of the other portion of the surface of the nickel-plating film 12, to prepare a plated product which has the silver-plating film 16 and the tin-plating film 20 on the surface of the nickel-plating film 12 formed on the base material 10; and irradiating the surface of the plated product with infrared rays to heat the surface thereof to reflow-treat the tin-plating film 20 to cause the tin-plating film 20 to be a reflowed tin-plating layer 22.

The invention relates to a chromium-based coating comprising at least one layer rich in crystalline phase or phases of nickel (Ni) and/or Ni compounds, and at least one layer rich in crystal-line phase or phases of chromium (Cr) and/or Cr compounds, Cr being electroplated from a trivalent chromium bath. The coating is characterized in that the it further comprises one or more crystalline phases of chromium-nickel-phosphorus (CrNiP), which CrNiP phase has been produced by heat treating a coating comprising at least one layer of nickel-phosphorus (NiP) and at least one layer of Cr. The invention also relates to a method for producing a chromiumbased coating and to a coated object.

Provided is a plated steel wire including: a steel wire; and a brass plating layer covering the surface of the steel wire and composed of Cu, Zn, Al, and impurities in which, assuming the total of Cu, Zn, and Al to be 100% by mass, the Cu content is from 60% by mass to less than 70% by mass and the Al content is from 5.5% by mass to less than 15% by mass, and the average thickness is from 180 nm to 2,000 nm.

To produce a chromium-containing multilayer coating on an object, alternate layers of nickel phosphorus alloy and trivalent chromium are deposited on the object until a desired thickness of coating has been reached. The coated object is then subjected to one or more heat treatments to improve the mechanical and physical properties of the coating and to produce multiphase layers comprising layers containing crystalline Ni and crystalline Ni.sub.3P and layers containing crystalline Cr.

Forming a transition zone terminated superconformal filling in a recess includes: providing an electrodeposition composition including: a metal electrolyte including a plurality of metal ions, solvent, and suppressor; providing the article including: a field surface and the recess that includes a distal position and a proximate position; exposing the recess to the electrodeposition composition; potentiodynamically controlling an electric potential of the recess with a potential wave form; bifurcating the recess into an active metal deposition region and a passive region; forming a transition zone; decreasing the electric potential of the recess by the potential wave form; progressively moving the transition zone closer to the field surface and away from the distal position; and reducing the metal ions and depositing the metal in the active metal deposition region and not in the passive region to form the transition zone terminated superconformal filling in the recess of the substrate.