Microstructure of YBCO bulk superconductors with CeO2 addition

The refinement of Y₂BaCuO₅ (Y211) particles by CeO₂ in the single-grain YBa₂Cu₃O₇/Y₂BaCuO₅ (Y123/Y211) bulk superconductors of nominal composition Y_1.5Ba₂Cu₃O_x prepared by top-seeded melt-growth process with Y₂O₃ addition has been studied by polarised light microscopy. It is shown that cerium is active in the Y211 particle refinement when it is solved in the peritectic melt, L_p. Observed growth of Y211 particles during sintering stage is ascribed to higher amount of melt induced by CeO₂ reaction with Y123 phase producing barium cerate and CuO.     

Interplay of YBCO and Embedded 211 Particles in Melt-Textured YBCO Superconductors

Local orientations of superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O _x (123) and embedded Y₂BaCuO₅ (211) particles within bulk, melt-textured 123 samples are studied on a local scale by means of electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The embedded Y₂BaCuO₅ (211) particles do not show any preferred texture, but their presence within the 123-matrix alters the growth of the 123-phase, independent of the orientation. EBSD enables to analyse the interactions between the 123- and 211-phases in detail.     

Epitaxial Growth of CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/YSZ/CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Buffer Layers on Textured Ni Substrates for YBCO Conductors

CeO₂/YSZ/CeO₂ buffer layers were deposited on textured Ni substrates byin situ pulsed laser deposition. The out-of-plane texture and in-plane texture of the buffer layers were characterized by X-ray diffraction ω-scans and ϕ-scans. Using this CeO₂/YSZ/CeO₂ architecture as the buffer layers, high quality YBCO films with a zero-resistanceT _c about 90 K and a self-field critical current densitiesJ _c above 10⁶ A/cm² at 77 K can be obtained on Ni substrates.     

MOCVD法制备YBCO高温超导体所需前驱盐的制备研究

通过金属有机源化学气相沉积技术(MOCVD)已可制得Ic达280 A/cm,Ic×L为300330 A.m的高性能YBCO带材,表现出巨大的优势和诱人的应用前景。进一步提高前驱盐的挥发性和批次稳定性不但能降低YBCO带材的生产成本、也能提高其性能稳定性。本研究报道了MOCVD法制备YBCO所需β二酮中间体TMHD及其钇、钡、铜金属有机前驱盐的制备,通过红外光谱和核磁共振谱对其化学结构予以确认;同时以金属钡与TMHD在正戊烷或正己烷中制备了无水β-二酮钡盐(Ba[tmhd]2),随后用五乙烯六胺为辅助配体(L)制备了挥发性更好的无水复合配体钡盐(Ba[tmhd]2.L),并通过热重分析技术比较了各前驱盐的挥发性,结果表明:辅助配体五乙烯六胺对提高钡盐挥发性作用显著。     

The Influence of BaZrO3 on the Magnetic Response of (Bi,Pb) : 2223 High-Temperature Superconductors

DC magnetization and AC complex susceptibility measurements on (Bi,Pb) : 2223 high-temperature superconductors impurified with various amounts of BaZrO₃ are presented. The results are discussed in the frame of the critical state model, and the values of the inter- and intragranular critical current density as well as of the field for full penetration are estimated. The values of the intergranular critical current density are consistent with those obtained from transport measurements. The intragranular critical current density and the field for full penetration have similar values from both DC magnetization and AC susceptibility measurements. It was shown that, in the (Bi,Pb) : 2223 system, BaZrO₃ impurification changes only the properties of the intergrain matrix, while the superconducting properties of the grains are not modified.     

DC SQUIDs based on YBCO step edge junctions

We describe the fabrication and testing of dc SQUIDs (Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices) obtained by photolithographic patterning of YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x thin films deposited both on SrTiO₃ and MgO substrates. The Josephson junctions in the superconducting loop are of the step-edge type, where the weak link is obtained through the growth of grains with different orientations across suitably prepared steps previously etched on the substrate surface. TheI–V characteristics of the devices tested show multiple branches and instabilities having a weak dependence on the external magnetic field, probably due to formation of junction clusters on the substrate step. The SQUID devices showed quantum interference behavior and an easily detectable voltage modulation with the applied magnetic field at a temperature of 77 K.     

衬底温度对掺锆酸钡高温超导YBCO薄膜结构和超导电性能的影响

高温超导氧化物YBCO外延薄膜在掺入少量锆酸钡(BaZrO3,BZO)后,其超导性能会得到较大幅度的提高.研究了不同衬底温度对掺BZO的YBCO薄膜的外延特性及超导性能的影响.以固相反应法制备了YBCO及BZO原材料,利用固相烧结工艺制备了BZO含量为2%(质量分数)的YBCO-BZO复合靶材,采用脉冲激光沉积技术(PLD)在LaAlO3(100)基片上外延生长YBCO薄膜.以不同的衬底温度制备了YBCO薄膜,用X射线衍射和高分辨透射电子显微技术对所制备的YBCO薄膜的外延特性进行了分析.最后比较了在不同衬底温度下制备的YBCO薄膜的超导性能,得到了最佳衬底温度.     

Direct Peritectic Growth of c-Axis Textured YBa2Cu3Ox on a Flexible Metallic Substrate

Previous work in the development of YBa₂Cu₃O _x (YBCO) superconducting wires and tapes has been focused on the deposition of YBCO on buffered metallic substrates. Although such an approach has proved successful in terms of achieving grain texturing and high transport current density, critical issues involving continuous processing of long-length conductors and stabilization of the superconductor have not yet been entirely settled. We have developed a novel process, the so-called direct peritectic growth (DPG), in which textured YBCO thick films have been successfully deposited directly onto a silver alloy substrate. No buffer layer is employed in the film deposition process. The textured YBCO grains have been obtained through peritectic solidification over a wide range of temperatures and times. The substrate materials have not demonstrated any observable reaction with the YBCO melt at the maximum processing temperature near 1010°C. The transport J _c has reached a respectable value of 10⁴ A/cm² at 77 K and zero magnetic field. Based on the experimental results in this work, we show that the DPG method offers an effective alternative for the fabrication of long-length YBCO conductors. Also reported is a physical explanation of the texturing mechanism on the metal substrate.     

Growth and Characterization of YbBCO Films on Textured Gd2O3 Buffer-Layered Ni Tapes: All Sol–Gel Process

YbBa₂Cu₃O_7–x (YbBCO) thick films were grown on buffered, cube-textured Nickel tapes by sol–gel dip-coating method. Yb-123 films were prepared using solutions of Yb, Ba, and Cu organometallic compounds. A solution-based Gd₂O₃ buffer layer was deposited by dip-coating process with excellent texture and uniformity. The texture development and surface morphology of the buffer-layer films were examined by X-ray diffraction, pole figures, and ESEM analysis. Microstructure and characterization of Yb-123 films were done by ESEM, EDS, and XRD analysis. T _c and J _c were conducted by four-wire measurement method     

MOCVD-grown homoepitaxial YBa2Cu3Ox thin films and its multilayers

YBa₂Cu₃O _x (YBCO) films, Zn-doped YBCO (YBCO : Zn) films, and their bilayers have been epitaxially grown on SrTiO₃(100) and single-crystal YBCO(001) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. The YBCO(001) films homoepitaxially grown on YBCO(001) substrates have flat surfaces on an atomic scale, and interfaces free from crystalline defects. We can systematically reduce the superconducting transition temperature (T _c) of YBCO : Zn films from 90 K to 37 K by increasing Zn concentration. The bilayers have a sharp distribution of Zn as evaluated fromT _c measurements of the upper YBCO films and depth profiles of secondary ion mass spectrometer, suggesting the possibility to form the homoepitaxial SNS (S, superconductor; N, normal metal) junction operatable between 40 K and 90 K.     

Growth mechanism of NaClO3 and NaBrO3 crystals from aqueous solutions

A study of growth rates of NaClO₃ and NaBrO₃ has been carried out using a small growth cell by in situ observation. Normal growth rates of (100) faces of NaClO₃ and (111) faces of NaBrO₃ along 〈110〉 direction are measured under relatively high supersaturation ranging from 3–8%. In the initial stages of growth, (100), (110) and (111) faces develop in NaClO₃ and gradually all the faces are replaced by the (100) faces only. In the case of NaBrO₃, mostly (111) faces develop with occasional occurrence of small (100) faces at the intersection of (111) faces. The growth mechanisms are investigated from growth rate vs supersaturation plots and from the observations of surface features. In the present supersaturation range, the growth mechanism appears to be due to two-dimensional growth mechanism.     

Dependency of Flux Jump on Temperature and Field-Sweep Rate for Textured (Nd1/3Eu1/3Gd1/3)Ba2Cu3O7- δ Bulk Superconductor with Gd-211 Particles

Anisotropy flux jumps in the mixed state of a textured (Nd_0.33Eu_0.33Gd_0.33)Ba₂Cu₃O_7-δ bulk superconductor with Gd-211 doping particles have been studied by means of magnetization measurements in the model of the magnetic field paralleling and perpendicular to the c axis. A typical anisotropy flux jump was observed at a temperature ranging from 2.0 to 3.0 K. Under the magnetic field perpendicular to c axis, no flux jump was found at whole temperature range until the sweep rate of 200 Oe/sec. For the magnetic field paralleling to the c axis, the number of flux jumps decreased with the increase of temperature, and the third quadrant of the M–H curve is the most flux-instability quadrant. The magnetic field sweep rate dependences of flux jumps were also studied and the influence of flux creep on flux jumps was also discussed.     

Textured silicon nitride: processing and anisotropic properties

Abstract

Textured silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) has been intensively studied over the past 15 years because of its use for achieving its superthermal and mechanical properties. In this review we present the fundamental aspects of the processing and anisotropic properties of textured Si₃N₄, with emphasis on the anisotropic and abnormal grain growth of β-Si₃N₄, texture structure and texture analysis, processing methods and anisotropic properties. On the basis of the texturing mechanisms, the processing methods described in this article have been classified into two types: hot-working (HW) and templated grain growth (TGG). The HW method includes the hot-pressing, hot-forging and sinter-forging techniques, and the TGG method includes the cold-pressing, extrusion, tape-casting and strong magnetic field alignment techniques for β-Si₃N₄ seed crystals. Each processing technique is thoroughly discussed in terms of theoretical models and experimental data, including the texturing mechanisms and the factors affecting texture development. Also, methods of synthesizing the rodlike β-Si₃N₄ single crystals are presented. Various anisotropic properties of textured Si₃ N₄ and their origins are thoroughly described and discussed, such as hardness, elastic modulus, bending strength, fracture toughness, fracture energy, creep behavior, tribological and wear behavior, erosion behavior, contact damage behavior and thermal conductivity. Models are analyzed to determine the thermal anisotropy by considering the intrinsic thermal anisotropy, degree of orientation and various microstructure factors. Textured porous Si₃N₄ with a unique microstructure composed of oriented elongated β-Si₃N₄ and anisotropic pores is also described for the first time, with emphasis on its unique mechanical and thermal-mechanical properties. Moreover, as an important related material, textured α-Sialon is also reviewed, because the presence of elongated α-Sialon grains allows the production of textured α-Sialon using the same methods as those used for textured β-Si₃N₄ and β-Sialon.     

Two-gap superconductivity and microwave properties of YBCO

The YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x compound contains two conductive subsystem and as a result displays a two-gap structure. The Cu-O₂ planes are characterized by intrinsic pairing, whereas the superconducting state of the Cu-O chains is induced by two different charge-transfer channels (intrinsic proximity effect and phonon-mediated transfer). Oxygen ordering affects the value of the induced energy gap. Such spectrum along with a short coherence length lead to peculiar microwave properties of YBCO thin films. The large residual microwave losses are explained in the framework of the two-gap model.     

Growth and characterization of large crystals of GdBa2Cu3O7 superconductor

We report here on the growth of large crystals of Gd-Ba-Cu-O superconductor by using the ‘K₂CO₃-method’ adopted earlier for preparing oriented ceramics and large crystals of Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors. The temperature favourable for the growth of GdBaCuO crystals is found to be higher than that required for YBaCuO crystals. Also, the crystal perfection is better for these crystals and as a result, the oxygenation of the sample becomes more difficult. Resistivity measurements on these samples show a sharp drop in resistivity at 90 K which then tails off at lower temperatures and attains zero resistance around 35 K. Such behaviour is normally due to an inhomogeneous oxygen content in the sample. Chemical analysis shows that the deviation from ‘123’ composition in GdBaCuO-samples is much less as compared to YBaCuO-samples obtained by the same technique.     

Magnetization and Susceptibility Studies on BaZrO3-Doped YBa2Cu3O7 ? x Bulk Superconductors

We studied the YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 – x} bulk superconductor doped with BaZrO₃ up to 50 wt.%, obtained by solid-state reaction powder technology. From DC magnetization loops and low frequency AC susceptibility measurements we determined the influence of the BaZrO₃ doping level on the critical temperature, critical current density, field for full penetration, and intergrain lower critical field. The results show that even high content of BaZrO₃ does not lead to degradation of the superconducting properties of bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_{7 – x} .     

Effect of Cerium Doping on Microstructure and Dielectric Properties of BaTiO3 Ceramics

A solid state reaction method was used to synthesize barium titanate (BT) and barium cerium titanate (BCT) ceramics at sintering temperature of 1473 K for 4 h. The effect of cerium (Ce) on the structure, microstructure and dielectric properties of BCT was investigated. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations revealed that the grain size increases with increasing Ce content. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed mostly the BT phase, where the lattice parameter decreased with the addition of Ce. The temperature dependence of dielectric constant showed decrease in the phase transition temperature with higher Ce content. The dielectric constant decreased slightly with increasing frequency. The direct current (dc) density-voltage characteristics of the ceramics showed ohmic behavior for both the BT and BCT. As the temperature increased, the dc resistivity of the ceramics decreased. The activation energy increased with increasing Ce content.     

Effects of SO2 on selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 over a TiO2 photocatalyst

Abstract

The effect of SO₂ gas was investigated on the activity of the photo-assisted selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen monoxide (NO) with ammonia (NH₃) over a TiO₂ photocatalyst in the presence of excess oxygen (photo-SCR). The introduction of SO₂ (300 ppm) greatly decreased the activity of the photo-SCR at 373 K. The increment of the reaction temperature enhanced the resistance to SO₂ gas, and at 553 K the conversion of NO was stable for at least 300 min of the reaction. X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elemental analysis and N₂ adsorption measurement revealed that the ammonium sulfate species were generated after the reaction. There was a strong negative correlation between the deposition amount of the ammonium sulfate species and the specific surface area. Based on the above relationship, we concluded that the deposition of the ammonium sulfate species decreased the specific surface area by plugging the pore structure of the catalyst, and the decrease of the specific surface area resulted in the deactivation of the catalyst.     

Microstructure and dielectric characteristics of Ni ion doped BaTiO3 nanoparticles

In this article, we report the effect of nickel oxide (NiO) addition on the microstructure and the dielectric properties of nano-barium titanate (BaTiO₃). Nickel ion doped barium titanate nanoparticles have been synthesized through a chemical route using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The concentration of Ni²⁺ varies from 0 to 1.6 mol% in the specimens. The particle diameters in the specimen lie in the range of 24 nm to 35 nm. It is seen that the dielectric permittivity in doped specimens is enhanced compared to that of undoped BT ceramics. The dielectric permittivity shows maxima in the specimen containing 0.6 mol% of dopant concentration. The results are explained in terms of the change in lattice parameter c and a of the specimens.     

Effects of SO2 on selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 over a TiO2 photocatalyst

The effect of SO₂ gas was investigated on the activity of the photo-assisted selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen monoxide (NO) with ammonia (NH₃) over a TiO₂ photocatalyst in the presence of excess oxygen (photo-SCR). The introduction of SO₂ (300 ppm) greatly decreased the activity of the photo-SCR at 373 K. The increment of the reaction temperature enhanced the resistance to SO₂ gas, and at 553 K the conversion of NO was stable for at least 300 min of the reaction. X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), elemental analysis and N₂ adsorption measurement revealed that the ammonium sulfate species were generated after the reaction. There was a strong negative correlation between the deposition amount of the ammonium sulfate species and the specific surface area. Based on the above relationship, we concluded that the deposition of the ammonium sulfate species decreased the specific surface area by plugging the pore structure of the catalyst, and the decrease of the specific surface area resulted in the deactivation of the catalyst.