Effect of mechanical activation parameters on the formation of superconducting phase in YBCO composite

Abstract

Superconducting materials based on cuprates, which are classified as high-temperature superconductors, are characterized by instability in the formation of the phase composition, depending on the method of their preparation. This work is devoted to the synthesis of the YBCO superconductor using a new stage, both with preliminary mechanical treatment of the initial components of the charge, in which, due to high dispersion and increasing the concentration of formation of nanoparticles from the initial components of the charge, their reactivity increases due to this, the formation of a useful superconducting phase in the final composite increases.
The use of preliminary mechanical activation (MA) initiates the process of dispersion and activation of the charge components. The studied samples were processed under MA conditions for 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 minutes. From the obtained mechanically activated powders, composites were then synthesized using the solid-phase combustion method, the subsequent study of which showed that they differ in properties and structure depending on the duration of the process. A study of the microstructure and phase composition showed that samples with a 30-minute exposure to its mechanical activation showed optimal properties. The structure is characterized by a fine-grained substance with a virtual absence of pores and a high concentrated density, homogeneous phase composition of YBCO, which made it possible to obtain a superconductor with a high critical temperature of transition to the superconducting state, in the region of 80 K.