Method for producing composite powders based on silver-tin oxide, the composite powders so produced, and the use of such powders to produce electrical contact materials by powder metallurgy techniques

Abstract

A method for producing composite powders based on silver-tin oxide, by chemically reductive precipitation of silver onto particulate tin oxide. A solution of a silver compound and a solution of a reducing agent are simultaneously added in stoichiometrically equivalent amounts, separately and continuously with intensive mixing, to an aqueous suspension of tin oxide. The resulting composite powders have very high homogeneity, and can be processed to make electrical contact materials. The method is particularly suitable for producing composite powders based on silver-tin oxide doped with indium oxide, to be used in the manufacture of electrical contact materials.

Description

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention[0002] The present invention relates to composite powders based on silver-tin oxide, and to methods for making them. The invention relates also to electrical contact materials made from such composite powders.[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art[0004] Electrical contact materials typically consist of silver with certain metal and / or oxide additives. These materials are made using powder metallurgy techniques.[0005] The materials are chosen based on the intended use, such as the type of switching device, the switching current, and the electrical load. General requirements include low electrical wear with high arc resistance, and low weld force with low contact resistance.[0006] The air contactors of low voltage / high current equipment, within a switching current range of 100-3000 A, are primarily made with materials based on silver-tin oxide, in which the oxide content, in practice, lies between about 8 and 12 wt. %. Contact materials of this type g...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

The method can be used either wet or dry, for instance with water, alcohol, etc., but is limited to powders having a particle size greater than 1 .mu.m.

Manufacture of these preferred contact materials has up to now taken place only using the internal oxidation process, which is costly.

However, this technique can only be used with the typically used oxides if special measures are taken.

These different processes produce different structural formations in the metal and oxide phases of the silver matrix; produce significant changes in the structure-dependent material properties; and thus produce significant changes in the processing and contact properties, which are difficult to predict in terms of size and tendency.

Thus, considerable differences with respect to the quality of the composite powders necessarily result from different system- and process-related structural formations of the oxide phases of the silver matrix.

However, this method is limited with respect to the choice of doping agents, since many of the doping materials of interest for contact materials dissolve in a highly basic environment and thus do not reappear in the precipitation product.

Hydrazine is known to be dangerous to human health and the environment.

The disclosed method has the additional disadvantage that it produces a considerable fraction of finely divided silver particles that are isolated and thus are not bonded to oxide particles.

This has a fundamental adverse affect on the homogeneity of the composite powder.

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