Effects of Oxygen Doping on the Transport Properties of Hg0.82Re0.18Ba2Ca2Cu3O8+d Superconducting Polycrystals

Abstract

Hg0.82Re0.18Ba2Ca2Cu3O8+dpolycrystalline ceramic samples were prepared using a solid-vapour reaction technique. First, the ceramic precursor was prepared from a mixture of Ba2Ca2Cu3Oxand ReO2powders in a molar ratio of 1:0.18. The precursor material was annealed under three different partial pressures of oxygen that consisted of a mixture of oxygen/argon in the following ratios: 5/95 (sample A), 10/90 (sample B) and 15/85 (sample C). Secondly, the precursors prepared at different O2partial pressures were blended with HgO at a molar relationship of 1:0.82. The synthesis was carried out at 865 °C for 72 h. Moreover, analyses using X-ray powder diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersion X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed. These results demonstrated a similarity in the grain morphology within the samples. Using SEM images, a histogram of grain-boundary size was produced where the average junction size is represented by a gamma density distribution function. Finally, the samples were submitted to ac electrical resistivity ρ (T) under a low applied magnetic field (up to 400 Oe). Samples cut into bars approximately 7 × 1 × 1 mm3in size were studied using a four-probe technique. The zero-resistance critical temperatures (Tcj) were determined from ρ (T) curves. The results are compared and qualitatively explained in the framework of flux trapping by superconducting grains. In our opinion, the oxygen partial pressure has a strong influence on the grain junctions and causes island structures that form defects at the grain boundaries.