About cookies on this site Our websites require some cookies to function properly (required). In addition, other cookies may be used with your consent to analyze site usage, improve the user experience and for advertising. For more information, please review your options. By visiting our website, you agree to our processing of information as described in IBM’sprivacy statement. To provide a smooth navigation, your cookie preferences will be shared across the IBM web domains listed here.
Publication
Applied Physics Letters
Paper
Aerosol flow reactor production of fine Y1Ba2Cu 3O7 powder: Fabrication of superconducting ceramics
Abstract
An aerosol flow reactor operating at 900-1000°C is used to prepare high-purity Y1Ba2Cu3O7 powders with a uniform chemical composition and a submicron to micron average particle size by thermally decomposing aerosol droplets of a solution consisting of the nitrate salts of Y, Ba, and Cu in a 1:2:3 ratio. The powders were at least 99% reacted based on thermogravimetric analysis, and the x-ray diffraction pattern is essentially that of Y1Ba2Cu3O7. Magnetic susceptibility measurements showed the powders to be superconducting with a transition at 90 K even for average reactor residence times as short as 20 s. Sintering cold-pressed pellets between 900 and 1000°C provides dense, fine grained (average size on the order of 1 μm) superconducting ceramics with sharp 90 K transitions. The grain size and shape of a final sintered part could be varied depending on powder production, processing, and sintering conditions.