Electrode material for a spark plug

1. A spark plug, comprising:

a metallic shell having an axial bore;

an insulator having an axial bore and being at least partially disposed within the axial bore of the metallic shell;

a center electrode being at least partially disposed within the axial bore of the insulator; and

a ground electrode being attached to a free end of the metallic shell;

wherein the center electrode, the ground electrode or both includes an electrode material having a particulate component embedded within a matrix component in the form of a metal composite;

the particulate component includes a ruthenium-based material having at least one precious metal, where ruthenium (Ru) is the single largest constituent of the particulate component on a wt % basis; and

the matrix component includes a precious metal, where the precious metal is the single largest constituent of the matrix component on a wt % basis.

2. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the particulate component includes a ruthenium-based material having a precious metal that is the second largest constituent of the particulate component on a wt % basis, and the precious metal is present in the particulate component from about 0.1 wt % to about 49.9 wt %, inclusive.

3. The spark plug of claim 2 , wherein the precious metal is selected from the group consisting of: rhodium (Rh), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir) or gold (Au).

4. The spark plug of claim 2 , wherein the particulate component includes rhodium (Rh) from about 0.1 to 15 wt % and ruthenium (Ru) as the balance.

5. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the particulate component further includes at least one refractory metal selected from the group consisting of: tungsten (W), rhenium (Re), tantalum (Ta), molybdenum (Mo) or niobium (Nb).

6. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the particulate component further includes at least one rare earth metal selected from the group consisting of: yttrium (Y), hafnium (Hf), scandium (Sc), zirconium (Zr) or lanthanum (La).

7. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the matrix component includes a platinum-based material where platinum (Pt) is the single largest constituent of the matrix component on a wt % basis.

8. The spark plug of claim 7 , wherein the platinum-based material is made from pure platinum (Pt).

9. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein about 2-20 wt % of the metal composite is in the form of the matrix component and about 80-98 wt % of the metal composite is in the form of the particulate component.

10. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the metal composite has an average particulate component spacing of about 1-20 μm, inclusive.

11. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the metal composite has an average density that is less than or equal to 14.0 g/cm 3 .

12. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the metal composite, after extrusion, has a microstructure with grains of the matrix component that are more elongated or more fiber-like than grains of the particulate component.

13. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the matrix component makes up about 2-20 wt % of the overall metal composite and includes a platinum-based material made from pure platinum (Pt), and the particulate component makes up about 80-98 wt % of the overall metal composite and includes a ruthenium-based alloy with rhodium (Rh) from about 0.1 to 5 wt % and ruthenium (Ru) as the balance.

14. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the metal composite is at least partially surrounded by a thin cladding material that includes platinum (Pt).

15. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the center electrode, the ground electrode or both includes an attached firing tip that is at least partially made from the electrode material.

16. The spark plug of claim 15 , wherein the firing tip is a multi-piece rivet that includes a second component attached to the center electrode or the ground electrode, and a first component that is attached to the second component and is at least partially made from the electrode material.

17. The spark plug of claim 1 , wherein the center electrode, the ground electrode or both is at least partially made from the electrode material and does not include an attached firing tip.

18. A spark plug electrode, comprising:

an electrode material having a particulate component embedded within a matrix component in the form of a metal composite;

the particulate component includes a ruthenium-based material, where ruthenium (Ru) is the single largest constituent of the particulate component on a wt % basis; and

the matrix component includes a precious metal, where the precious metal is the single largest constituent of the matrix component on a wt % basis.

19. A method of forming a spark plug electrode, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a matrix component and a particulate component in powder form, wherein the matrix component includes at least one precious metal and the particulate component includes ruthenium (Ru);

(b) blending the matrix component and particulate component powders together to form a powder mixture;

(c) sintering the powder mixture to form an electrode material, where the electrode material is in the form of a metal composite with the particulate component embedded or dispersed in the matrix component; and

(d) forming the electrode material into a spark plug electrode.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising the step of:

inserting the electrode material from step (c) into a cladding structure, and co-extruding the electrode material and the cladding structure together.