As an important component carrying the core function and service life of switching appliances, the selection and improvement of electrical contact materials is of great significance. AgSnO₂, which is non-toxic, environmentally friendly and has excellent performance, has become the most promising contact material to replace AgCdO. However, it has deficiencies in machinability and electrical conductivity. The property of AgSnO₂ contact material was improved by doping element Cr. The relationship between the mechanical and electrical properties of AgSnO₂ contact materials and doping concentrations were investigated and analyzed by simulation and experiment. Based on the first principle, the elastic constants of supercell models Sn_1-xCr_xO₂ (x = 0, 0.083, 0.125, 0.167, 0.25) were calculated. The results show that the material with a doping ratio of 25% is least prone to warp and crack, and the material with a doping ratio of 12.5% has the best toughness and ductility and the lowest hardness, which leads to molding and is subsequently easier to process. The Cr-doped AgSnO₂ contacts with different doping proportions were prepared by the sol-gel and powder metallurgy method. Additionally, their physical performance and electrical contact properties were measured in experiments. The results show that the doped SnO₂ powders prepared by the sol-gel method realize integration doping, which is consistent with the crystal model constructed in the simulation calculation. Sn_0.875Cr_0.125O₂ has lower hardness, which is beneficial to process and form. Doping helps to stabilize the arc root, inhibit the ablation of contact by arc, reduces arc duration and arc energy, improves the resistance to arc erosion of AgSnO₂ contact material, and makes electrical contact performance more stable. The contact material with a doping concentration of 16.7% has the best arc erosion resistance.

Jingting Xu

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