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Role of zirconia nanoparticles on microstructure, excess conductivity and pinning mechanism of BSCCO superconductor ceramics

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Abstract

Using the solid-state reaction process, we prepared (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10-δ (Bi-2223 for brevity) ceramics with the addition of zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles. The proportion x of ZrO2 per the total masse of superconductor ranged from 0 wt.% to 0.2 wt.%. We report the intragrain critical current density (Jc), pinning mechanisms, and thermal fluctuations induced excess conductivity. Employing numerous characterization techniques, combining X-rays diffraction, electrical transport measurements, scanning and transmission electron microscopes (SEM and TEM), and DC magnetization hysteresis measurements, we find that the ceramic sintered with 0.1 wt.% ZrO2 nanoparticle showed the best superconducting performance. From the analysis of excess conductivity using Aslamazov–Larkin model, we assessed the crossover temperatures between different regimes of conductivity, the penetration depth, the coherence length, as well as the upper and the lower critical magnetic fields (Bc1, Bc2) at zero kelvin for all the ceramics. Critical current density versus temperature deduced from magnetization measurement is raised by NP-ZrO2 addition. Thereby, NP-ZrO2 strengthened the role of δl pinning cores and enhanced the flux pinning ability.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledged the Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC) and Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center (BASRC) of Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (Dammam, Saudi Arabia) for providing laboratory facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Physics of Materials: Structure and Properties LR01ES15, Faculty of Science of Bizerte, University of Carthage, Zarzouna, 7021, Bizerte, Tunisia

    M. Zouaoui & M. Ben Salem

  2. Department of Biophysics, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    Y. Slimani

  3. Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    H. S. Aldosari & F. Ben Azzouz

  4. Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    F. Ben Azzouz

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  1. M. Zouaoui
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Contributions

MZ: formal analysis. MBS: supervision. YS: validation, formal analysis, writing—review and editing. HSA: formal analysis. FBA: conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, supervision.

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Correspondence to Y. Slimani or F. Ben Azzouz.

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Zouaoui, M., Ben Salem, M., Slimani, Y. et al. Role of zirconia nanoparticles on microstructure, excess conductivity and pinning mechanism of BSCCO superconductor ceramics. Appl. Phys. A 129, 511 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-023-06791-y

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