Structural and superconducting properties of YBa2Cu3-xMxOy (M=Ag, Al)

Samples of YBa2Cu3-xAgxOy with x=0, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3 and samples of YBa2Cu3-xAlxOy with x=0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.045 are prepared by the sol-gel method. Structural and superconducting properties of samples are studied by electrical resistivity (R-T), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). All the samples show transition to superconducting state and the transition temperatures of the samples increased with increasing Ag doping up to x=0.15. R-T measurements show a small decrease of TC (zero) with increasing Al doping up to x=0.02, and followed by a faster decrease with increasing doping concentration. YBCO grains are better linked with increasing Ag doping. So, Ag has positive effects in superconducting properties of YBCO. The crystal structure of samples was refined by MAUD. These results show tha, Ag is substituted for Cu(1) in YBCO. According to these analysis, we introduce x=0.15 as the optimum value for doping concentration.