Microbalance and Related Studies of High-temperature Superconductors

Abstract

Many properties of oxide superconductors depend on the oxygen concentration and its distribution in the samples. The microgravimetric method is very useful to study of oxide superconductors, as it allows investigations in vacuum and controlled environments in classical applications: thermogravimetric analysis for the study of solid-state reactions, determinations of oxygen contents in redox reactions and the combined measurement of mass and additional parameters, e.g. evolved gas analysis etc. Single-phase samples of high-temperature superconductors were synthesized from stoichiometric mixtures of high-purity oxides and carbonates. Appropriate amounts of the precursor powders were homogenized manually or by a mechanical ball mill and subsequently calcined at temperatures in the 800 to 950°C range with intermediate grinding to ensure homogenous reaction. The lattice parameters of all preparations were controlled, in both initial and final experiments, by the X-ray powder method (CuKα radiation), using a Stadi P (Stoe) diffractometer with a position-sensitive detector. It is well known that temperature and mass can be measured with an accuracy higher by orders of magnitude than it is still possible for the thermoanalyst to determine the transformation temperatures or the mass changes due to overlapping partial reactions. Applications of Cahn microbalance to study of high-temperature superconductors are presented.