Synthesis of nanoscale superconducting YBCO by a novel technique

A novel technique using citrate pyrolysis was developed to prepare nanoscale superconducting oxide materials. This paper describes the details on synthesizing nanocrystalline YBCO with a T-c of similar to80 K using this method. The morphology and structure of the nanoscale products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained YBCO grains have a mean particle size of 40-60 nm (for unannealed samples) and 100-150 nm (for the annealed products). The crystalline size was only similar to20 nm. Currently there are attempts at using such fine powder to fabricate longer superconducting tapes, which should induce a technical revolution in the production of superconducting tapes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.Physics, AppliedSCI(E)EI21ARTICLE2129-13237