Method for producing silver-plated product

Abstract

There is provided a silver-plated product which has a good bendability and which can restrain the rise of the contact resistance thereof even if it is used in a high-temperature environment, and a method for producing the same. In a silver-plated product wherein a surface layer of silver is formed on the surface of a base material of copper or a copper alloy, or on the surface of an underlying layer of copper or a copper alloy formed on the base material, the percentage of an X-ray diffraction intensity on {200} plane of the surface layer with respect to the sum of X-ray diffraction intensities on {111}, {200}, {220} and {311} planes of the surface layer is 40% or more.

Claims

1. A method for producing a silver-plated product, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a base material; and forming a surface layer of silver on a surface of the base material or on a surface of an underlying layer formed on the base material, wherein the surface layer is formed by electroplating in a silver plating bath which comprises silver potassium cyanide, potassium cyanide and potassium selenocyanate, the concentration of potassium selenocyanate in the silver plating bath being 11 to 30 mg/L, and wherein a mass ratio of silver to free cyanogen in the silver plating bath is in the range of from 0.9 to 1.8, and wherein a percentage of an X-ray diffraction intensity on {200} plane of the surface layer with respect to the sum of X-ray diffraction intensities on {111}, {200}, {220} and {311} planes of the surface layer is 48.1% or more.

2. A method for producing a silver-plated product as set forth in claim 1, wherein said surface layer is formed on the surface of the base material of copper or a copper alloy, or on the surface of the underlying layer of copper or a copper alloy formed on the base material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a graph showing the concentration of Se with respect to the mass ratio of Ag to free CN in silver plating baths used for producing silver-plated products in Examples 1-8 and Comparative Examples 1-5;

(2) FIG. 2 is a graph showing the contact resistance after the heat-proof test with respect to the {200} orientation intensity ratio of silver-plated products obtained in Examples 1-8 and Comparative Examples 1-5; and

(3) FIG. 3 is a graph showing the contact resistance after the heat-proof test with respect to the {200} orientation intensity ratio of silver-plated products obtained in Examples 1-8 and Comparative Examples 1-2.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(4) In the preferred embodiment of a silver-plated product according to the present invention, a surface layer of silver is formed on the surface of a base material or on the surface of an underlying layer formed on the base material, and the percentage of the X-ray diffraction intensity on {200} plane of the surface layer with respect to the sum of the X-ray diffraction intensities on {111}, {200}, {220} and {311} planes of the surface layer is 40% or more. In this silver-plated product, the surface layer of silver is preferably formed on the surface of the base material of copper or a copper alloy, or on the surface of the underlying layer of copper or a copper alloy formed on the base material.

(5) In the preferred embodiment of a method for producing a silver-plated product according to the present invention, a surface layer of silver is formed on the surface of a base material or on the surface of an underlying layer formed on the base material so that the percentage of the X-ray diffraction intensity on {200} plane of the surface layer with respect to the sum of the X-ray diffraction intensities on {111}, {200}, {220} and {311} planes of the surface layer is 40% or more.

(6) Specifically, in a method for producing a silver-plated product wherein a surface layer of silver is formed on the surface of a base material or on the surface of an underlying layer formed on the base material, the surface layer (preferably having a thickness of 10 micrometer or less) is formed by electroplating in a silver plating bath which contains 5 to 15 mg/L of selenium and wherein a mass ratio of silver to free cyanogen is in the range of from 0.9 to 1.8. In this method for producing a silver-plated product, the surface layer of silver is preferably formed on the surface of the base material of copper or a copper alloy, or on the surface of the underlying layer of copper or a copper alloy formed on the base material. Furthermore, during the electroplating, the temperature of the solution is preferably 10 to 40 C., more preferably 15 to 30 and the current density is preferably 1 to 15 A/dm.sup.2, more preferably 3 to 10 A/dm.sup.2.

(7) The silver plating bath is preferably a silver plating bath which comprises silver potassium cyanide (KAg(CN).sub.2), potassium cyanide (KCN), and 3 to 30 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate (KSeCN) and wherein the concentration of selenium in the silver plating bath is 5 to 15 mg/L, the mass ratio of silver to free cyanogen being in the range of from 0.9 to 1.8.

(8) Furthermore, the surface layer of the silver-plated product contains silver, and may be made of a silver alloy if it is possible to form such a surface layer that the percentage of the X-ray diffraction intensity on {200} plane with respect to the sum of the X-ray diffraction intensities on {111}, {200}, {220} and {311} planes is 40% or more by electroplating in a silver plating bath which contains 5 to 15 mg/L of selenium and wherein a mass ratio of silver to free cyanogen is in the range of from 0.9 to 1.8.

(9) Examples of a silver-plated product and a method for producing the same according to the present invention will be described below in detail.

Example 1

(10) First, a pure copper plate having a size of 67 mm50 mm0.3 mm was prepared as a base material (a material to be plated). The material to be plated and a SUS plate were put in an alkali degreasing solution to be used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to carry out electrolytic degreasing at 5 V for 30 seconds. The material thus electrolytic-degreased was washed, and then, pickled for 15 seconds in a 3% sulfuric acid.

(11) Then, the material to be plated and a titanium electrode plate coated with platinum were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-strike-plate) the material at a current density of 2.5 A/dm.sup.2 for 10 seconds in a silver strike plating bath comprising 3 g/L of silver potassium cyanide and 90 g/L of potassium cyanide while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer.

(12) Then, the material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 74 g/L of silver potassium cyanide (KAg(CN).sub.2), 100 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate (KSeCN) while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 40 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 40 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.0.

(13) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated, and the contact resistances thereof before and after a heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated.

(14) The {200} orientation intensity ratio of the silver-plated product was calculated as the proportion of the integrated intensity at an X-ray diffraction peak on {200} plane of the silver plating film with respect to the sum of the integrated intensities at X-ray diffraction peaks on {111}, {200}, {220} and {311} planes of the silver plating film, the integrated intensities being obtained from an X-ray diffraction pattern which was obtained at a tube voltage of 30 kV and a tube current 30 mA in a sampling width of 0.020 using an X-ray tube of Cu, a monochrometer and a glass sample holder by means of an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyzer (RINT-3C produced by RIGAKU Corporation). As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 62.3%.

(15) The heat resisting property of the silver-plated product was evaluated by measuring a contact resistance thereof at a load of 50 gf by means of an electrical contact simulator (CRS-1 produced by Yamasaki-Seiki Co., Ltd.) before and after a heat-proof test in which the silver-plated product was heated at 200 C. for 144 hours by means of a dryer (OF450 produced by AS ONE Corporation). As a result, the contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.9 m before the heat-proof test and 2.3 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test.

(16) The bendability of the silver-plated product was evaluated on the basis of the presence of cracks in a bent portion of the silver-plated product by observing the bent portion at a power of 1000 by means of a microscope (Digital Microscope VHX-1000 produced by KEYENCE CORPORATION) after the silver-plated product was bent by 90 degrees at R=0.1 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of rolling of the base material in accordance with the V-block method described in Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) 22248. As a result, cracks were not observed, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 2

(17) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 111 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 100 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 60 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 40 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.5.

(18) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 61.6%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.8 m before the heat-proof test and 2.5 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 3

(19) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 111 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 120 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 60 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 48 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.3.

(20) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 74.4%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.9 ma before the heat-proof test and 2.5 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 4

(21) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 111 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 60 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 58 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.1.

(22) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 60.4%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.8 m before the heat-proof test and 3.2 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 5

(23) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 120 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 48 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.7.

(24) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 79.9%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.7 m before the heat-proof test and 2.0 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 6

(25) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.4.

(26) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 72.7%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.9 m before the heat-proof test and 2.4 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 7

(27) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 11 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 6 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.4.

(28) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 81.2%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 1.0 m before the heat-proof test and 2.4 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Example 8

(29) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 26 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 14 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.4.

(30) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 48.1%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.8 m before the heat-proof test and 3.6 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the rise of the contact resistance was restrained after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were not observed in the silver-plated product after bending, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was good.

Comparative Example 1

(31) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 in a silver plating bath comprising 74 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 40 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 0.7.

(32) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 33.6%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.8 m before the heat-proof test and 5.6 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was not a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the contact resistance was raised after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were observed in the silver-plated product after bending, and the base material was exposed, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was not good.

Comparative Example 2

(33) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 100 g/L of potassium cyanide and 18 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 10 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 40 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 2.0.

(34) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 25.9%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.9 m before the heat-proof test and 12.3 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was not a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the contact resistance was raised after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were observed in the silver-plated product after bending, and the base material was exposed, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was not good.

Comparative Example 3

(35) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 36 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 20 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.4.

(36) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 5.4%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.9 m before the heat-proof test and 15.7 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was not a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the contact resistance was raised after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were observed in the silver-plated product after bending, and the base material was exposed, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was not good.

Comparative Example 4

(37) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 55 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 30 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.4.

(38) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 5.1%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.7 m before the heat-proof test and 94.2 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was not a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the contact resistance was raised after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were observed in the silver-plated product after bending, and the base material was exposed, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was not good.

Comparative Example 5

(39) A silver-plated product was produced by the same method as that in Example 1, except that a material to be plated and a silver electrode plate were used as a cathode and an anode, respectively, to electroplate (silver-plate) the material at a current density of 5 A/dm.sup.2 and a liquid temperature of 18 C. in a silver plating bath comprising 148 g/L of silver potassium cyanide, 140 g/L of potassium cyanide and 73 mg/L of potassium selenocyanate while stirring the solution at 400 rpm by a stirrer, until a silver plating film having a thickness of 3 micrometers was formed. Furthermore, in the used silver plating bath, the concentration of Se was 40 mg/L, and the concentration of Ag was 80 g/L, the concentration of free CN being 56 g/L, and the mass ratio of Ag to free CN being 1.4.

(40) With respect to a silver-plated product thus produced, the {200} orientation intensity ratio thereof was calculated by the same method as that in Example 1, and the contact resistances thereof before and after the heat-proof test and the bendability thereof were evaluated by the same methods as those in Example 1. As a result, the {200} orientation intensity ratio was 4.8%. The contact resistance of the silver-plated product was 0.7 m before the heat-proof test and 574.5 m after the heat-proof test. Thus, the contact resistance after the heat-proof test was not a good value which was not higher than 5 m, so that the contact resistance was raised after the heat-proof test. Moreover, cracks were observed in the silver-plated product after bending, and the base material was exposed, so that the bendability of the silver-plated product was not good.

(41) The composition of the silver plating bath used for producing the silver-plated product in each of Examples 1-8 and Comparative Examples 1-5 is shown in Table 1, and the characteristics of the silver-plated product are shown in Table 2.

(42) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Composition of Silver Plating Bath Silver Plating Bath Free Ag/ KAg(CN).sub.2 KCN KSeCN Se Ag CN Free (g/L) (g/L) (mg/L) (mg/L) (g/L) (g/L) CN Ex. 1 74 100 18 10 40 40 1.0 Ex. 2 111 100 18 10 60 40 1.5 Ex. 3 111 120 18 10 60 48 1.3 Ex. 4 111 140 18 10 60 56 1.1 Ex. 5 148 120 18 10 80 48 1.7 Ex. 6 148 140 18 10 80 56 1.4 Ex. 7 148 140 11 6 80 56 1.4 Ex. 8 148 140 26 14 80 56 1.4 Comp. 1 74 140 18 10 40 56 0.7 Comp. 2 148 100 18 10 80 40 2.0 Comp. 3 148 140 36 20 80 56 1.4 Comp. 4 148 140 55 30 80 56 1.4 Comp. 5 148 140 73 40 80 56 1.4

(43) TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Contact Contact (200) Resistance Resistance Orientation before after Intensity Heat-Proof Heat-Proof Bendability Ratio Test Test (Presence of (%) (m) (m) Cracks) Ex. 1 62.3 0.9 2.3 No Cracks Ex. 2 61.6 0.8 2.5 No Cracks Ex. 3 74.4 0.9 2.5 No Cracks Ex. 4 60.4 0.8 3.2 No Cracks Ex. 5 79.9 0.7 2.0 No Cracks Ex. 6 72.7 0.9 2.4 No Cracks Ex. 7 81.2 1.0 2.4 No Cracks Ex. 8 48.1 0.8 3.6 No Cracks Comp. 1 33.6 0.8 5.6 Cracks Comp. 2 25.9 0.9 12.3 Cracks Comp. 3 5.4 0.9 15.7 Cracks Comp. 4 5.1 0.7 94.2 Cracks Comp. 5 4.8 0.7 574.5 Cracks