Research

12 pages, 3414 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Orthorhombic YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ Superconductor with TiO₂ Nanoparticle Addition: Crystal Structure, Electric Resistivity, and AC Susceptibility

by Fatma Barood, Mohd Mustafa Awang Kechik, Tan Sin Tee, Chen Soo Kien, Lim Kean Pah, Kai Jeat Hong, Abdul Halim Shaari, Hussein Baqiah, Muhammad Khalis Abdul Karim, Muhammad Kashfi Shabdin, Khairul Khaizi Mohd Shariff, Azhan Hashim, Nurbaisyatul Ermiza Suhaimi and Muralidhar Miryala

Coatings 2023, 13(6), 1093; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13061093 - 13 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1076

Abstract

This article reports the effect of a nanoscale addition of TiO₂ on the structure and superconducting parameters of the high-temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (Y123). Polycrystalline compounds of Y123 with different percentages of TiO₂, x = 0.0, [...] Read more.

This article reports the effect of a nanoscale addition of TiO₂ on the structure and superconducting parameters of the high-temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (Y123). Polycrystalline compounds of Y123 with different percentages of TiO₂, x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0, were fabricated using the thermal treatment method. An analysis using X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of Y123 phases for all composite samples. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis revealed the growth of grain size and decrease in porosity, with a sign of partial melting of grains for the samples with TiO₂ addition. The magnetic and electric transport properties were investigated using AC susceptibility measurement and the four-probe method, respectively. It was observed that the superconducting transition temperature, T_c-onset, for a pure sample determined by ACS and 4PP was 95.6 K and 95.4 K, respectively. These values were found to decrease with the addition of TiO₂, while the superconducting transition (∆T_c) improved with TiO₂ addition except for the sample at x = 0.2 wt.%, which showed the broadest transition width. The sharpest superconducting transition (∆T_c) was observed for the sample at x = 1.0 wt.%, indicating that the addition of TiO₂ nanoparticles is expected to serve as artificial pinning centres and strengthen the connection among the grains in the Y123 ceramic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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6 pages, 1371 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Joining Superconducting MgB₂ Parts by Spark Plasma Sintering: A New Technique with High Potential for Manufacturing Future Superconducting Devices

by Yohann Thimont, Yiteng Xing, Pierre Bernstein, Muralidhar Miryala and Jacques Noudem

Coatings 2022, 12(8), 1151; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12081151 - 09 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1393

Abstract

MgB₂ pellets that were sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) from commercial MgB₂ powder were soldered by a SPS process and compared to unsoldered ones. The soldered samples were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy which have shown no visible [...] Read more.

MgB₂ pellets that were sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) from commercial MgB₂ powder were soldered by a SPS process and compared to unsoldered ones. The soldered samples were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy which have shown no visible defects at the junction. SQUID magnetometry and four probes resistance measurements have confirmed that the soldered pellets present the same magnetic properties as the unsoldered ones. The presented soldering technique could find applications for manufacturing superconducting devices with custom shapes which could be used as rotors for motors and generators, magnets and magnetic shields. This new approach could generate a high potential interest for industrials in these and connected domains such as the development of new electrical planes using superconducting technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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10 pages, 3725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in the Structural Parameters and Effective Magnetic Moment of Eu_2−xCe_xCuO_4+α−δ by Zn Substitution

by Rosaldi Pratama, Togar Saragi, Trisna Maulana, Suci Winarsih, Yati Maryati, Muhammad Abdan Syakuur, Utami Widyaiswari, Dita Puspita Sari, Maykel Manawan and Risdiana Risdiana

Coatings 2022, 12(6), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12060789 - 07 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1433

Abstract

The effect of nonmagnetic Zn impurities on the structural parameters and effective magnetic moment of electron-doped superconducting cuprates Eu_2−xCe_xCu_1−yZn_yO_4+α−δ (ECCZO) with x = 0.10 and 0.15 and y = 0 [...] Read more.

The effect of nonmagnetic Zn impurities on the structural parameters and effective magnetic moment of electron-doped superconducting cuprates Eu_2−xCe_xCu_1−yZn_yO_4+α−δ (ECCZO) with x = 0.10 and 0.15 and y = 0 and 0.01 has been investigated using XRD and SQUID measurements. From XRD measurements, it is found that the lattice parameter of c and the Cu-O bond length increase with increasing y. The crystallite size of ECCZO samples was relatively smaller than the sample without impurities determined by the Debye–Scherrer equation and the W-H Plot method. Changes in the lattice parameters of c and Cu-O bond length can affect the appearance of superconductivity (T_c). The smaller the value of the lattice parameter of c and the Cu-O bond length causes the distance between the conducting layer and the charge reservoir to be close enough so that the charge transfer process becomes easier. From the magnetic susceptibility measurement, paramagnetic characteristics were observed for samples with x = 0.10. Meanwhile, for samples with x = 0.15, diamagnetic characteristics can be identified in sample with y = 0. The onset of T_c was observed around 11 K, as indicated by a change from paramagnetic to diamagnetic characteristics. The superconductivity phase disappears with y = 0.01. The effective magnetic moments in samples with y = 0 are smaller than those in samples with y = 0.01. The effective magnetic moment in ECCZO can be contributed by Cu²⁺. When the amount of Cu²⁺ decreases due to the addition of nonmagnetic Zn²⁺ atoms, the overall effective magnetic moment value also decreases. Another possibility that causes a decrease in the value of the magnetic moment of the ECCZO is the existence of stripe-pinning model, which results in suppressed superconductivity by Zn. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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13 pages, 18084 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Graphene Nanoparticles Addition on Superconductivity of YBa₂Cu₃O₇_~_δ Synthesized via the Thermal Treatment Method

by Aliah Nursyahirah Kamarudin, Mohd Mustafa Awang Kechik, Siti Nabilah Abdullah, Hussein Baqiah, Soo Kien Chen, Muhammad Khalis Abdul Karim, Aima Ramli, Kean Pah Lim, Abdul Halim Shaari, Muralidhar Miryala, Masato Murakami and Zainal Abidin Talib

Coatings 2022, 12(1), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings12010091 - 13 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2304

Abstract

The development of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) YBa₂Cu₃O_7~δ (Y123) bulks in industrial applications were established years ago. It is one of the developments that currently attracts great attention especially in transportation, superconductor cables and wires. This study is focused [...] Read more.

The development of high-temperature superconductor (HTS) YBa₂Cu₃O_7~δ (Y123) bulks in industrial applications were established years ago. It is one of the developments that currently attracts great attention especially in transportation, superconductor cables and wires. This study is focused on the preparation of the Y123 bulk superconductors by the thermal treatment method due to the promising ways to develop high-quality Y123 superconductors with its simplicity, low cost, and relatively low reaction temperature used during the process. Y123 were added with graphene nanoparticles (x = (0.0–1.0) wt.%). Samples were then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and alternating current susceptibility (ACS). It was found that Y123 confirmed that the majority of phases in all the XRD patterns was the orthorhombic crystal structure and the Pmmm space group with secondary phases belonged to Y₂Ba₁Cu₁O₅ (Y211). The highest T_c obtained when graphene nanoparticles were added in the Y123 sample was x = 1.0 wt.%, followed by x = 0.5 wt.% with 92.64 and 92.59 K, respectively. From the microstructure analysis, the average grain size significantly decreased to 4.754 µm at x = 0.5 wt.%. The addition of graphene nanoparticles had disturbed the grain growth of Y123, affecting the superconducting properties of the samples. On the other hand, the intergranular critical current density, J_cm, was found to increase with graphene nanoparticle addition and had the highest value at x = 1.0 wt.%, indicating that graphene nanoparticles acted as pinning centers in the Y123 matrix. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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12 pages, 35366 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Characterization of Ce³⁺-Doped Ni_0.5Cd_0.5Fe₂O₄ Nanoparticles by Sol–Gel Auto-Combustion Method

by Danyal Ahmad, Nasir Mehboob, Abid Zaman, Nabeel Ahmed, Kashif Ahmed, Muhammad Mushtaq, Khaled Althubeiti, Asad Ali, Fozia Sultana and Khalid Bashir

Coatings 2021, 11(10), 1156; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11101156 - 25 Sep 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2255

Abstract

Cerium (Ce)-doped Ni_0.5Cd_0.5Ce_xFe_2−xO₄ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) was synthesized using the sol–gel auto-combustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that all the samples retained spinel cubic crystal structure with space group Fd3m at [...] Read more.

Cerium (Ce)-doped Ni_0.5Cd_0.5Ce_xFe_2−xO₄ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) was synthesized using the sol–gel auto-combustion method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that all the samples retained spinel cubic crystal structure with space group Fd3m at 800 °C. Crystal structure parameters, such as lattice constant, average crystallite size, and X-ray density were estimated from the major XRD (311) peak. Bulk density and porosity were also calculated. The average crystallite size was estimated to be in the range of 20–24 nm. SEM images displayed agglomerated particles with a porous morphology. The dielectric constant (

ε^{'}

) increased and the dielectric loss tangent (tan

δ

) decreased with rising Ce concentration. The hysteresis loop (M–H loop) was measured at room temperature using a vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), which showed a nonlinear decrease in magnetization and coercivity with increasing Ce concentration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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14 pages, 3420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of NiO Nanoparticle Addition on the Structural, Microstructural, Magnetic, Electrical, and Magneto-Transport Properties of La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ Nanocomposites

by Lik Nguong Lau, Kean Pah Lim, See Yee Chok, Amirah Natasha Ishak, Xiao Tong Hon, Yan Jing Wong, Mohd Mustafa Awang Kechik, Soo Kien Chen, Noor Baa’yah Ibrahim, Muralidhar Miryala, Masato Murakami and Abdul Halim Shaari

Coatings 2021, 11(7), 835; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11070835 - 11 Jul 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2125

Abstract

Incorporation of the secondary oxide phase into the manganite composite capable of enhancing low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) for viability in high-performance spintronic applications. Polycrystalline La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) was prepared via the sol–gel route in this study. The structural, microstructural, magnetic, [...] Read more.

Incorporation of the secondary oxide phase into the manganite composite capable of enhancing low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) for viability in high-performance spintronic applications. Polycrystalline La_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃ (LCMO) was prepared via the sol–gel route in this study. The structural, microstructural, magnetic, electrical, and magneto-transport properties of (1−x) LCMO: x NiO, x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 were investigated in detail. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns showed the coexistence of LCMO and NiO in the composites. The microstructural analysis indicated the amount of NiO nanoparticles segregated at the grain boundaries or on the surface of LCMO grains increased with the increasing secondary phase content. LCMO and NiO still retained their individual magnetic phase as observed from AC susceptibility (ACS) measurement. This further confirmed that there is no interfacial diffusion reaction between these two compounds. The NiO nanoparticle acted as a barrier to charge transport and caused an increase in resistivity for composite samples. The residual resistivity due to the grain/domain boundary is responsible for the scattering mechanism in the metallic region as suggested by the theoretical model fitting,

ρ (T) = ρ_{0} + ρ_{2} T^{2} + ρ_{4.5} T^{4.5}

. The magnetoresistance values of LCMO and its composites were found to increase monotonically with the decrease in temperature. Hence, the LFMR was observed. Nonetheless, the slight reduction of LFMR in composites was attributed to the thick boundary layer created by NiO and impaired the spin polarised tunnelling process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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12 pages, 2588 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microstructural, Phase Formation, and Superconducting Properties of Bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_y Superconductors Grown by Infiltration Growth Process Utilizing the YBa₂Cu₃O_y + ErBa₂Cu₃O_y + Ba₃Cu₅O₈ as a Liquid Source

by Aliah Nursyahirah Kamarudin, Mohd Mustafa Awang Kechik, Muralidhar Miryala, Sunsanee Pinmangkorn, Masato Murakami, Soo Kien Chen, Hussein Baqiah, Aima Ramli, Kean Pah Lim and Abdul Halim Shaari

Coatings 2021, 11(4), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11040377 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2049

Abstract

The infiltration growth (IG) process is well-known as the most established technique consisting of Y₂BaCuO₅ (Y211) precursor powders and liquid phases toward the fabrication of bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_y (Y123) superconductor for high field industrial applications. We [...] Read more.

The infiltration growth (IG) process is well-known as the most established technique consisting of Y₂BaCuO₅ (Y211) precursor powders and liquid phases toward the fabrication of bulk YBa₂Cu₃O_y (Y123) superconductor for high field industrial applications. We have reported the fabrication of Y123 bulks using this technique at various ratios of liquid phase source. In this study, the use of liquid phase source toward the infiltration growth of bulk Y123 superconductors at different ratios of Y123 and ErBa₂Cu₃O_y (Er123) mixed with Ba₃Cu₅O₈ (Y035) was investigated to control the Y211 secondary phase content in bulk Y123 samples. The liquid phase content was optimized by varying the mass. The sample fabricated using Y123 liquid phase (Y₁Er₀) showed the onset of critical temperature T_c-onset = 91.85 K. T_c-onset slightly decreased with the addition of Er123. Microstructure analysis revealed a uniform distribution of Y211 secondary phase particles in the Y123 matrix. The Y₁Er₀ sample had the smallest of Y211 particle size among the samples with average size of 0.992 μm. The formation of this smaller-sized Y211 particles with uniform distributions that act as an effective pinning center, had improved the critical current density, J_c of the sample Y₁Er₀ at 77 K with H//c-axis having the highest J_c 54.15 kA/cm² and 11.45 kA/cm² in self-field and 2 T, respectively. The binary mixed of rare earth superconductors (Y123 + Er123) used in the liquid phase could be used to further improve the superconducting properties of Y123 single grains. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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15 pages, 8743 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Physical Properties of Submicron and Nano-Grained La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ and Nd_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ Synthesised by Sol–Gel and Solid-State Reaction Methods

by Lik Nguong Lau, Kean Pah Lim, Amirah Natasha Ishak, Mohd Mustafa Awang Kechik, Soo Kien Chen, Noor Baa’yah Ibrahim, Muralidhar Miryala, Masato Murakami and Abdul Halim Shaari

Coatings 2021, 11(3), 361; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11030361 - 22 Mar 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3174

Abstract

La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) and Nd_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (NSMO) possess excellent colossal magnetoresistance (CMR). However, research work on the neodymium-based system is limited to date. A comparative study between LSMO and NSMO prepared by sol–gel and solid-state [...] Read more.

La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (LSMO) and Nd_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (NSMO) possess excellent colossal magnetoresistance (CMR). However, research work on the neodymium-based system is limited to date. A comparative study between LSMO and NSMO prepared by sol–gel and solid-state reaction methods was undertaken to assess their structural, microstructural, magnetic, electrical, and magneto-transport properties. X-ray diffraction and structure refinement showed the formation of a single-phase composition. Sol–gel-synthesised NSMO was revealed to be a sample with single crystallite grains and exhibited intriguing magnetic and electrical transport behaviours. Magnetic characterisation highlighted that Curie temperature (T_C) decreases with the grain size. Strong suppression of the metal–insulator transition temperature (T_MI) was observed and attributed to the magnetically disordered grain surface and distortion of the MnO₆ octahedra. The electrical resistivity in the metallic region was fitted with theoretical models, and the conduction mechanism could be explained by the grain/domain boundary, electron–electron, and electron–magnon scattering process. The increase in the scattering process was ascribed to the morphology changes. Enhancement of low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) was observed in nano-grained samples. The obtained results show that the grain size and its distribution, as well as the crystallite formation, strongly affect the physical properties of hole-doped manganites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advance in Superconductor and Superconducting Thin Films)

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