Doping Effect of Y2Ba4CuMoOy Particles on Microstructure and Superconducting Properties in Polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7−δ

Synthesis of polycrystalline YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) + x mol.% Y2Ba4CuMoO y (Y-24Mo1) (x=0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 1.0, 2.0 and 20.0) superconductors have been done in air via a standard solid state reaction technique. The effects of Y-24Mo1 particles on the microstructure and the superconducting transition temperature were systematically investigated through XRD and SEM techniques. When Y-24Mo1 was added to the YBCO, the orthorhombic structure maintained even at the highest concentration. Tiny peaks of Y-24Mo1 having (022) orientation and some other impurity were detected in the XRD spectrum when x=20.0. SEM results reveal the presence of some entities, and these entities changed with increase of Y-24Mo1 content. The Y-24Mo1 addition modifies the normal state resistivity of samples from metallic to semiconducting, and is accompanied by a two-step transition. Moreover, low Y-24Mo1 concentration leads to a relatively sharp superconducting transition and a broad transition take place for Y-24Mo1 addition greater than 0.2 mol.%. These results can be induced by the inhomogeneities, by the change of the effective coupling strength, and by the variation of the coupling between grains.