Vickers hardness measurements and some physical properties of Pr2O3 doped Bi-2212 superconductors

This study deals with the effect of Pr2O3 addition on the structural, superconducting and mechanical properties of Bi-2212 superconductor by means of X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron dispersive X-ray (EDX), Vickers microhardness and resistivity measurements. The samples studied are prepared using the standard solid-state reaction method. Onset transition temperatures (T (c) (onset) ) of the samples are estimated from the dc resistivity measurements. Furthermore, the phase ratio and lattice parameters a and c are determined from XRD patterns when the microstructure, surface morphology and element composition analyses of the samples are investigated by SEM and EDX measurements, respectively. Additionally, vickers microhardness, elastic modulus, yield strength and fracture toughness values of the samples are deduced from microhardness measurements. It is found that T (c) (onset) values of the samples increase from 87 to 97 K with the Pr2O3 addition. According to the refinement of cell parameters done by considering the structural modulation, the doping is confirmed by both an increase of the lattice parameter a and a decrease of the cell parameter c of the samples in comparison with that of the pure sample. As for SEM measurements, it is obtained that the surface morphology and grain connectivity degrade with the increase of the Pr2O3 addition. Moreover, EDX images show that the elements used for the preparation of samples distribute homogeneously and the Pr atoms enter into the crystal structure by replacing Sr atoms. To sum up, the Pr2O3 addition is found to suppress the mechanical, microstructural and superconducting properties of the Bi-2212 superconductor