Coexistence of Superconductivity and Ferromagnetic Phases in YBa2Cu3O7−δ Nanoparticles

  • H. Arabi
  • S. Jamshidi
  • M. Komeili
  • A. Amirabadizadeh
Original Paper
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Abstract

High-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−δ (YBCO) nanopowders were synthesized by the citrate-gel route, which is a modification of the sol-gel method. The fine powders were calcinated at 860 and 900 °C. They were of small size, in the range of 30–35 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns verified production of the orthorhombic superconducting phase in all samples. Measuring the magnetic properties of these nanoparticles at room temperature, via a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), indicated ferromagnetism behavior in the YBa2Cu3O7−δ nanoparticles. As the size of the nanoparticles decreased, the magnetic saturation of all samples increased. The development of the ferromagnetism effect was attributed to the presence of surface oxygen vacancies that lead to electron redistribution on the different ions at the surface. Thus, in an innovative work, the produced samples were annealed at 700 °C for 5 h under 0.8–0.9 bar of air atmosphere. The results showed that a small increase in the nanoparticle size provided a dramatic increase of magnetic saturation in all samples. Thus, we can say that the annealing process at vacuum improves the ferromagnetic properties of YBCO nanoparticles.

Keywords

Superconductivity Ferromagnetism Nanoparticles Coexistence YBCO 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • H. Arabi
    • 1
    • 2
  • S. Jamshidi
    • 1
  • M. Komeili
    • 1
  • A. Amirabadizadeh
    • 1
  1. 1.Magnetism and Superconducting Research Lab, Department of Physics, Faculty of ScienceUniversity of BirjandBirjandIran
  2. 2.Department of PhysicsFerdowsi University of MashhadMashhadIran

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