Enhancement in the performance of BSCCO (Bi-2223) superconductor with functionalized TiO2 nanorod additive

2021

Sci Rep

The major limitations of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor are weak flux pinning capability and weak inter-grains coupling that lead to a low critical current density and low critical magnetic field which impedes the suppleness of this material towards practical applications. The addition of nanoscales impurities can create artificial pining centers that may improve flux pinning capability and intergranular coupling. In this work, the influences of ZnO nanoparticles on the superconducting parameters and pseudogap properties of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor are investigated using fluctuation induced conductivity analyses. Results demonstrate that the ZnO nanoparticles addition improves the formation of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ phase significantly. Various superconducting parameters include coherence length along c-axis (ξc(0)), penetration depth (λpd(0)), Fermi velocity (vF), Fermi energy (EF), lower and upper critical magnetic fields (Bc1(0) and Bc2(0) respectively) and critical current density (Jc(0)), are estimated for samples with different amounts of ZnO nanoparticles. It is found that the values of the Bc1(0), Bc2(0), and Jc(0) are improved significantly in the 0.2 wt% ZnO added sample in comparison to the ZnO-free sample. The magnitude and temperature dependence of the pseudogap Δ*(T) is calculated using the local pairs model. The obtained values of Tpair, the temperature at which local pairs are transformed from strongly coupled bosons into the fluctuating Cooper pairs, increases as the added ZnO nanoparticles concentration enhances up to 0.2 wt%. Also, the estimated values for the superconducting gap at T = 0 K (Δ(0)) are decreased from about 26 meV in ZnO-free sample to about 22 meV in 0.2 wt% ZnO added sample and then increases for higher values of additive.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluctuation induced conductivity and pseudogap state studies of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconductor added with ZnO nanoparticles

2021

Sci Rep

“…Recently, numerous reports have been published on the effects of the different nanosized additives on the superconducting properties of the (Bi, Pb)-2223 superconducting phase [2,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]. The impacts of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on the uctuation induced conductivity and pseudogap properties of the (Bi, Pb)-2223 phase was investigated in our previous study [11].…”

Section: ( )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermally activated flux flow and inter-granular coupling properties in (Bi, Pb)-2223 superconductor added with ZnO nanoparticles

2022

Preprint

In high-temperature ceramic superconductors, vortices motion is caused by the strong thermal fluctuations due to the thermally activated flux flow (TAFF). The TAFF impedes the transport properties and critical current density of superconductors. It has been reported that the addition of nanoscale impurities can create artificial pining centers that may improve flux pinning capability and inter-granular coupling in ceramic superconductors. Here, the effects of different amounts (0.0 to 1.0 wt%) of ZnO nanoparticles on the TAFF behavior and zero temperature activation energy of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconducting phase have been studied using the modified TAFF model. Moreover, the impacts of the additive on the inter-granular traits and the Josephson coupling energy of the superconducting phase have been investigated using AC susceptibility measurements. Results indicate that the vortex phases for all composites are divided into three vortex regions, but the temperature ranges in each region are different for various amounts of the additives. A vortex glass to vortex liquid transition at Tg was obtained from the analysis. The vortex liquid region is divided into the critical and TAFF ones. It was found that the TAFF region is shifted to the higher temperatures and gets narrower by adding the ZnO nanoparticles up to 0.2 wt%. The Tg increases from 93.8 K for the ZnO free sample to 101.0 K for the sample with 0.2 wt% ZnO nanoparticles. In addition, the zero temperature activation energy (U0/KB) increases from ~ 0.4×105 K for the ZnO free sample to ~ 1.4×105 K for the sample with 0.2 wt% ZnO nanoparticles and then decreases for higher values of additive. Moreover, it was found that the Josephson coupling energy Ej increases from ~ 0.037 eV for ZnO free sample to ~ 0.130 eV for the sample with 0.2 wt% additives. These results point out the significant improvement of the flux pinning capability and inter-granular coupling of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ superconducting phase with the addition of the 0.2 wt% ZnO nanoparticles.

“…Among various HTSC materials, the Bi based (BSCCO) system has become a promising candidate for industrial and technological applications such as high critical current density superconducting cables, magnetic resonance imaging systems (MRI), magnetic sensors, fast-response digital electronic devices, and high-speed magnetic levitation trains [24][25][26]. The BSCCO system with general formol of Bi2Sr2Can-1CunO2n+4+δ, has three superconducting phases including Bi2Sr2Cu1O6+δ (Bi2201) phase (n=1and TC=20 K), Bi2Sr2Ca1Cu2O8+δ (Bi2212) phase (n =2 and TC=80 K), and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ (Bi2223) phase (n=3 and TC=110 K) [25,27]. Among these superconducting phases, the Bi2223 duo to the remarkably high transition temperature, high upper critical magnetic fields HC2, large critical current density JC, and favorable mechanical properties has attracted extensive attention from researchers as a promising candidate to use in the mentioned applications [28][29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess conductivity analysis of BiPb-2223 superconductor added with (Al2O3–15wt% ZrO2) nanopowders

Moghadam

2023

Preprint

Weak flux pinning and weak intergranular coupling are the main constraints of the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ (BiPb-2223) superconductor that restrict its practical applications. It has been shown that introducing artificial pinning centers could enhance flux pinning capability in high-temperature superconductors. In this work, the excess conductivity analyses used to study the effects of Al2O3–15 wt% ZrO2 (AlZr) nanocomposite on the superconducting properties of the BiPb-2223 phase. A series of (BiPb-2223)1−x/(AlZr)x composite samples (0.0 wt% ≤ x ≤ 1 wt%) were synthesized. The XRD results and SEM micrographs showed that adding AlZr nanocomposite up to 0.5 wt% improves the Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+δ phase formation and intergranular coupling. The excess conductivity analyses showed that the Fermi energy EF, Fermi velocity VF, and coherence length along the c axis ξc(0) decrease with increasing the amount of the AlZr nanocomposite. the ξc(0) value decreases from 3.68 Å for AlZr free sample to 2.70 Å for x = 1.0 wt%. Moreover, different superconducting critical parameters, including lower and upper critical magnetic fields (Bc1(0) and Bc2(0)), and critical current density (Jc(0)) are estimated by the Ginsberg-Landau theory. Obtained values indicated a remarkable enhancement in the mentioned critical parameters by adding the AlZr nanocomposite. The Jc(0) value enhances from 1.4×103 A/cm2 for AlZr free sample to 3.5×103 A/cm2 for the sample with 1.0 wt% additives, which shows that the Jc(0) is improved by about 150%. The obtained values also show that the critical magnetic fields are improved by about 80% by adding the 1.0 wt% AlZr nanocomposite. The improvement of the superconducting parameters most likely attributes to the the flux pinning capability and intergranular coupling enhancment.