Improvement of superconducting, morphological, and flux pinning ability of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−y matrix with oxygen and Mn₂O₃ impurity

Abstract

In the current work, the influence of oxygen and Mn2O3 impurity levels intervals 0.00≤x≤0.30 on various key properties such as electrical resistivity, superconducting, flux pinning ability, stabilization of ceramic system, and morphological properties of YBa2Cu3O7-y (Y-123) superconductor were examined by electrical resistivity, critical current density, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurements. The EDX test results indicated that all the Y-123 ceramics produced possessed different composition distributions on the sample surface. SEM photomicrographs also confirmed the improvement in the appearance of surface morphology and crystallinity quality of the YBa2Cu3O7-y system. Moreover, the development in the interaction quality between grains, pinning ability and strength quality of 2D coupled vortices was obtained with the oxygen ambient and optimum manganese impurity addition highly dispersing throughout the intra grain and inter-grain boundary couplings due to the increase in the artificial flux pinning nucleation sites in the Y-123 system. Thus, the best sample with the highest Jc value of 98 A/cm2 showed the most resistance to the applied magnetic field and current. Similarly, the same sample exhibited the greatest superconductive offset (98.320 K) and onset (100.504 K) temperatures values based on the development of the Cu-O coordination and stability of the crystal structure. In conclusion, this comprehensive study based on the analysis of oxygen and Mn2O3 impurity addition mechanism through the YBa2Cu3O7-y ceramic matrix may open a new and applicable field for advanced engineering, heavy industry technology and large-scale applications.