Silver metal oxide alloy and method of making

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10727006-B2
Application number	US-201916268945-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 6, 2019
Priority date	Sep 23, 2016
Publication date	Jul 28, 2020
Grant date	Jul 28, 2020

Abstract

Various embodiments disclosed relate to an alloy. The alloy includes elemental silver. The alloy further includes a metal oxide phase in the elemental silver. The metal oxide phase includes a wetting agent layer that coats the metal oxide phase.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An alloy comprising:
elemental silver; and
a metal oxide phase in the elemental silver, wherein the metal oxide phase comprises a wetting agent layer, wherein the wetting agent layer defines an interface between the metal oxide phase and the elemental silver that is adjacent thereto.

2. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the wetting agent layer encapsulates and uniformly coats the metal oxide phase.

3. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the elemental silver is about 80 wt % to about 98 wt % of the alloy.

4. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide phase is about 4 wt % to about 12 wt % of the alloy.

5. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the wetting agent layer is about 0.05 wt % to about 1 wt % of the alloy.

6. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide phase comprises zinc oxide, tin oxide, tungsten oxide, copper oxide, copper peroxide, iron oxide, or any combination thereof.

7. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide phase comprises one metal oxide and is free of other metal oxides.

8. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide phase is free of cadmium oxide.

9. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the wetting agent layer comprises a wetting agent that is molybdenum trioxide, tellurium dioxide, antimony trioxide, tantalum pentoxide, magnesium oxide, bismuth oxide, bismuth tin oxide, elemental bismuth, tantalum carbide, germanium dioxide, tungsten oxide, or ruthenium oxide.

10. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the metal oxide phase comprises tin oxide and the wetting agent comprises silver tungstate.

11. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the elemental silver and the metal oxide phase are substantially homogenously distributed in the alloy.

12. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the elemental silver directly contacts the wetting agent layer of the metal oxide phase.

13. The alloy of claim 1 , wherein the elemental silver is free of direct contact with the metal oxide phase.

14. A switch comprising:
a first stationary contact carrier;
a first contact pad attached to the first stationary contact carrier and comprising a first alloy;
a movable contact carrier; and
a second contact pad attached to the movable contact carrier, wherein the second contact pad is configured to selectively engage the first contact pad and is formed from an alloy
comprising:
elemental silver; and
a metal oxide phase in the elemental silver, wherein the metal oxide phase comprises a wetting agent layer and the wetting agent layer defines an interface between the metal oxide phase and the elemental silver that is adjacent thereto.

15. The switch of claim 14 , further comprising:
a second stationary contact carrier; and
a third contact pad attached to the second stationary contact carrier and comprising a second alloy.

16. A method of forming an alloy, the method comprising:
coating a metal oxide phase with a wetting agent to form a coated metal oxide phase comprising a wetting agent layer; and
compacting the coated metal oxide phase with elemental silver,
wherein the wetting agent layer defines an interface between the metal oxide phase and the elemental silver that is adjacent thereto.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the wetting agent of the alloy has a melting temperature
below the melting temperature of the metal oxide phase.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein coating the metal oxide phase with the
wetting agent comprises blending the metal oxide phase with the wetting agent at a temperature that is higher than a melting temperature of the wetting agent and lower than a melting temperature of the metal oxide phase to form an intermediate mixture of liquid wetting agent and solid metal oxide phase.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein coating the metal oxide phase with the wetting agent further comprises:
cooling the intermediate mixture to a temperature below the melting temperature of the wetting agent to solidify the wetting agent into a solid coating layer on the metal oxide phase that is the wetting agent layer.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein coating the metal oxide phase with the wetting agent comprises: solution deposition of the wetting agent on the metal oxide phase, thermal-melt coating the metal oxide phase with the wetting agent, spray coating the metal oxide phase with the wetting agent, vapor phase deposition of the wetting agent on the metal oxide phase, electroplating the wetting agent on the metal oxide phase, or combinations thereof.

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Olmsted Brian Keith
• Hall Jeffrey
• Ballard Darryl

Classifications

• C22C1/101

  by coating · CPC title

• C22C32/0021

  Matrix based on noble metals, Cu or alloys thereof · CPC title

• B22F1/18

  Non-metallic particles coated with metal · CPC title

• H01H11/04

  of switch contacts · CPC title

• H01H1/10

  Laminated contacts with divided contact surface · CPC title