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Dehydrogenation-induced crystal defects for significant enhancement of critical current density in polycrystalline H-doped MgB2

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Abstract

The present study discovers the significant enhancement of critical current density by the pinning of borohydride and crystal defects in the hydrogen-treated MgB2 bulks. Based on the concept of gas doping, the nanosized borohydride Mg(BH4)2 is formed by synthesizing H-doped MgB2 bulks in an H2 atmosphere at 300 °C and 350 °C, and the critical current density was enhanced over the entire field. The H-doped MgB2 bulks are then experienced dehydrogenation at 300 °C and 350 °C, respectively, and the decomposition of Mg(BH4)2 induced nanosized pits on the surface of the MgB2 grains, leading to a further enhancement of critical current density, 1.5 × 104 A cm−2 at 20 K and 2.5 T, which is three times larger than that of the un-doped MgB2 sample, 4.8 × 103 A cm−2. The hydrogenation and dehydrogenation hardly changed the superconducting transition temperature or the pinning mechanism of the MgB2 samples. The enhancement of the critical current density is possibly attributed to the pinning effects of the crystal defects, and the reduction of MgO.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51804195).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Qi Cai, Xinyao Li, Shukui Li, Chuan He, Xingwei Liu & Xinya Feng

  2. China National Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Materials Under Shock and Impact, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Shukui Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China

    Shukui Li

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  1. Qi Cai
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Cai, Q., Li, X., Li, S. et al. Dehydrogenation-induced crystal defects for significant enhancement of critical current density in polycrystalline H-doped MgB2. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 843–852 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-04862-x

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