Higher intra-granular and inter-granular performances of YBCO superconductor with TiO2 nano-sized particles addition

• Published in: Ceramics international Vol. 44; no. 15; pp. 18836 - 18843
• Main Authors: Hannachi, E., Slimani, Y., Ben Azzouz, F., Ekicibil, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15.10.2018
• Subjects: Electrical property; Inter-granular property; Intra-granular property; Microstructure; TiO2 nanoparticles; Y-123 superconductor; Intra-granular property; Electrical property; Inter-granular property; Y-123 superconductor; Microstructure; TiO2 nanoparticles
• ISSN: 0272-8842; 1873-3956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2018.07.118

The impact of titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles addition on the intra-granular and inter-granular properties of YBa2Cu3O7-y (Y-123) were thoroughly investigated. Specimens were produced through the solid-state reaction (SSR) route by adding small contents of TiO2 nano-entities. The phase identification was studied using the X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microstructure and the chemical composition were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) technique coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) system. The electrical resistivity measurements were done using the conventional four probe technique. The intra-granular, inter-granular and transport critical current densities of the synthesized specimens were explored through measurements of magnetization, ac-susceptibility and current-voltage, respectively. The possible pinning mechanisms predominant in synthesized compounds are estimated. The obtained results show that small amount of TiO2 nanoparticles improves the flux pinning capacity in Y-123 material.