Preparation and Properties of Ag-Based Electrical Contact Material Reinforced by Ti3AlC2 Ceramic and its Derivative Ti3C2Tx

Abstract As a new kind of two-dimensional carbide material, Ti3C2Tx has revealed its exceptional potentials in many applications. Herein, we successfully prepared the Ag/Ti3C2Tx composite by powder metallurgy and investigated its comprehensive properties by compared with Ag/Ti3AlC2 composite. The Ag/Ti3C2Tx was found to possess the 29% lower resistivity(30×10-3 μΩ·m) than Ag/Ti3AlC2(42×10-3 μΩ·m) and excellent machinability with intermediate hardness (64 HV), showing broad application prospect as non-toxic electrical contact materials. The improved conductivity of Ag/Ti3C2Tx composite is attributed to the metallicity of Ti3C2Tx itself, the good interface bonding between the Ti3C2Tx and Ag, and the microstructural features rendered by the deformability of Ti3C2Tx. Although the arc erosion resistance of Ag/Ti3C2Tx needs to be further improved, it is a powerful and potential alternative material for the Ag/CdO in the further.