Study On Copper Matrix Electrical Contact Materials Composed With Light Silver

This paper uses Cu as material matrix to substitute 90% of Ag in AgSnO₂ and apply powder metallurgy method in order to create a new type of high performance copper matrix electrical contact materials composed with light silver. The effect of sintering atmosphere and different amount of Ag and SnO₂ on performance of materials has been studied. The results indicated that the materials with sintering atmosphere vacuum have better properties than those with nitrogen and hydrogen. Besides, the optimal amount of Ag and SnO₂ is both 5% and the contact materials have the best physical and mechanical properties. Based on this, the effect of the amount of addition of Ti has on wetting interface has been investigated. The principal mechanism and application of using Ti as addition to improve the wetting interface of metal and ceramics has been discussed. It indicated that, with 5 % Ti, contact angle has minimum value while the wettability between Cu/SnO₂ and Ag/SnO₂ has been improved a lot, which also improves the electrical conductivity, physical and mechanical properties. The results of XRD,SEM,EDS showed that the intermetallic compound(Ti- Cu) due to addition of Ti enhanced the strength of materials. What's more, the effect of addition of CeO₂ on properties of materials has also been studied. the high melting point of tombarthite have ability to improve the molten- resistant properties.The materials obtained from this paper have high electrical conductivity, low contact resistance and better mechanical properties. It has optimal overall performance which will meet the requirement of contact materials in low-voltage apparatus and substitute the widely used Ag contact materials. It can also improve the service performance for switching apparatus. Due to the fact that this new materials will reduce the cost of contact materials, the application will have huge market prospect and economic benefits.