Nanocomposite materials of the Y3Ba5Cu8O18/(Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4)

What is it about?

The first parent of the yttrium–barium–copper–oxide (YBCO) superconductor family was Y1Ba2Cu3O7−δ (Y123) with transition temperature Tc around 90 K.1 The discovery of Y123 opened the door to the high-Tc era of superconductivity above liquid nitrogen temperature. Bi–Sr–Ca–Cu–O (BSCCO), Tl–Ba–Ca–Cu–O, and Hg–Ba–Ca–Cu–O superconductors have higher Tc as 110 K, 123 K, and 135 K, respectively, but YBCO is less anisotropic than BSCCO, Tl–BCCO, and Hg–BCCO due to the presence of Cu–O chains between the CuO2 planes and is the preferred material for applications in higher magnetic fields.1 An intensive research has been performed to enhance the transition temperature Tc and the electric current density Jc, which led to the fabrication of the new members of the YBCO family as Y3Ba5Cu8O18 (Y358) with Tc around 100 K.

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Photo by Jon Moore on Unsplash

Photo by Jon Moore on Unsplash

Why is it important?

358 has three CuO chains and five CuO2 planes, whereas Y123 has one CuO chain and two CuO2 planes.3 There are two groups studying the structure of Y358: the first group has reported that the lattice parameters of Y358 are almost similar to those of Y123,4 while the second group has reported unique lattice parameters of Y358 with triple-c values compared to the Y123 orthorhombic structure.5 The physical properties of Ni–Zn ferrites are improved when prepared in nanometric sizes.6,7 The super-paramagnetic behavior of nanoferrites is quite applicable in high frequency microwaves, antennas, and transformers.8–15

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