Synthesis and Characterization of Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O7 Superconducting Oxide by High-Energy Milling

Superconducting Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O7 wasprepared by a solid-state reaction using high-energy millingfor the starting materials. The effects of the sintering temperatureand time on the phase evolution, microstructure,and superconducting properties were examined by thermogravimetricanalysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electronmicroscopy, and four-point probe resistivity measurements.High-energy milling decreased the precursor particlesize to approximately 30 nm with a relatively uniformdistribution of multi-compositions. Because of themechanochemical activation for the starting materials, thereaction temperature was decreased to 750 ◦C due tothe decreased diffusion length required for the solid-statereaction. Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2Ca2Cu3O7 prepared by high-energymilling showed good superconducting properties with Tc ∼100 K, which is superior to the same material prepared byball milling and sol-gel routes. Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism, Volume 28 / 2015, 26 Maret 2015