Sintered, electrical contact material for low voltage power switching

摘要

Electrical contact materials based on AgCdO with CdO as the main active component have proven to be particularly advantageous for low voltage switchgear in the power industry. However, when switching AgCdO contact materials, CdO, which is classified as toxic, can escape into the environment through burn-off. It is important, therefore, to keep the CdO content as low as possible in the contact material, or to exclude it completely. The contact material according to the invention is a sintered contact material consisting of AgSnO.sub.2 with at least two other metal oxide additives; namely, Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3, CuO and optionally CdO. Relative to SnO.sub.2, these additives Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3, CuO optionally CdO, amount quantitatively to a total maximum of 25 percent by volume of the total amount of oxide.