Graphene oxide and silver effects on the arc erosion properties of Al2O3–Cu/30Cr composite

Abstract

To investigate methods for enhancing the resistance of electrical contact materials to arc erosion, this study focuses on the preparation and properties of novel composites. Al₂O₃–Cu/30Cr and 0.3GO-0.3Ag/Al₂O₃–Cu/30Cr composites were fabricated using vacuum hot press sintering. The composites achieved high relative densities (99.82% and 99.6%), good electrical conductivities (47.8% IACS and 46.1% IACS), excellent hardness (142 HV and 158 HV), and superior thermal conductivities (124 W/(m·K) and 188 W/(m·K) at 150 °C), with compressive strengths of 693 MPa and 711 MPa. In addition, the addition of GO-Ag improved the resistance of the material to arc erosion, and the transfer and loss of the material were significantly reduced. Under the 30 V DC 30 A condition, the anode mass gain, cathode mass reduction and total mass loss decreasing from 3 mg, 3.73 mg, and 0.73 mg–1.97 mg, 2.30 mg, and 0.33 mg, respectively. Furthermore, the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) results show that Cr₃C₂ compounds effectively pin the Cr–Cu interface. High thermal conductivity and good micro-interface improve the electrical contact properties of the composites and help to improve the compression properties.