Graphene oxide modified superconducting and elastic parameters of YBCO superconductor

Abstract

In the present work, (1-x) YBa2Cu3O7-δ + x Graphene Oxide (GO) {x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 wt %} composite samples were prepared by standard solid state reaction route. The phase purity, structural and morphological analyses of the composite samples were observed through the X-ray powder diffraction and Field emission scanning electron microscopy respectively. The variations of superconducting parameters were observed through the resistivity vs. temperature and electric field vs. current density measurement. The onset of the superconducting transition temperature (TCon) enhances with increasing wt. % of graphene oxide and the maximum value was found to be 97.02 K for 0.8 wt % graphene oxide added YBCO sample. This may be attributed to the improved inter-linking among the superconducting grains and enhancing the transport of carrier density between the inter-granular sites. As a consequence of the superconducting volume fraction of the composite samples increases, hence critical current density is enhanced with increasing wt. % of graphene oxide. The Ultrasonic measurement has been utilized to observe the elastic parameters of the composite materials.