Electrical transport properties of YBa2Cu3Oy implanted by CdS nanoparticles: nanoparticle size effect

Abstract

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticles size effects on the superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3Oy compound were investigated in details. Solid-state reaction method was used for the synthesis of samples with additional amounts of CdS nanoparticles with sizes 6 nm and 12 nm and an additional amount x = 0.1 wt%. Synthesis of cadmium nanoparticles was done by using aqueous methods and they were characterized by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD). Optical absorption measurement of the as-synthesized nanoparticles was carried out, and the specific surface areas of the sample were analyzed using a surface area and porosity analyzer. Electrical resistivity and transport critical current densities were measured by using the four-probe technique. The measurements revealed that CdS (6 nm) added samples exhibit higher energy pinning and current densities as compared to pure YBa2Cu3Oy and with additional CdS (12 nm). This implies that the size reduction of CdS can give rise to effective pinning centers which can enhance the superconducting properties in the Y-123 materials.