Environmental Degradation Effect on the Properties of Bi-2212 Highly Textured Rods

It is well know that H₂O and CO₂ (both present in the atmosphere) can react chemically with BSCCO superconductors, especially with the alkaline–earth cations, producing chemical degradation and reducing their performances. In this work, Bi-2212 highly textured rods were grown from the melt through a laser floating zone melting technique. In order to determine the influence of H₂O and CO₂ on these bulk textured samples, they were immersed in distilled water and in CO₂ saturated water. The evolution of the electrical and mechanical properties of these rods was determined as a function of the immersion time in both media and compared with their initial properties. It has been found that performance degradation was higher in distilled water than in CO₂ saturated one. Nevertheless, in any case, the degradation has been found to be not very important.