Amorphous B coated Mg nanopowder induces low angle grain boundaries and enhances J _c of MgB₂ wire

Abstract

In this work, amorphous B coated Mg nanopowder (BCMN) is synthesized and transport property of MgB2 superconducting wire is significantly enhanced with different contents of BCMN. BCMN has high reactivity since it contains nanoscale Mg and amorphous B. It allows to obtain MgB2 nanocrystals at only 400 °C with the compression of a lattice parameter and expansion of c lattice parameter compared to MgB2 formed by micron-sized Mg mixed with amorphous B (Mg + B) powders. These MgB2 nanocrystals serve as crystal nuclei and promote the crystallization and growth of MgB2. The mismatch of different lattice parameters prepared using BCMN and M + B powders induces low angle grain boundaries (LAGBs) embedded in MgB2 grains. LAGBs act as plane defects, leading to a dominant surface pinning mechanism and an enhancement in the critical current density on the magnetic field (J c(H)). At 4.2 K in 6 T, transport critical current density (J ct) of wire with 20 wt.% BCMN is 6.7 × 104 A·cm−2, approximately 1.8 times wire with 0 wt.% BCMN.