Abstract
Small changes in oxygen stoichiometry are shown to have a dramatic effect on the superconducting transition temperature, T c , of the new oxide superconductors. The ease with which superconducting perovskite oxides loose and take up oxygen with reversible structure changes was established. The results of this study support earlier thermoanalytical work that the optimum physical properties are achieved by a very precise balance of the oxidation state of metal ions and oxygen stoichiometry which originate during synthesis and/or subsequent processing. We describe a method for establishing the oxygen stoichiometry of La 1.825 Sr 0.175 CuO 4−y and REBa 2Cu 3O 7−x, where RE = Y or a rare earth element, by measuring the weight change as a function of the temperature and ambient.
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