Structural and Superconducting Properties of (Al2O3)y/CuTl-1223 Composites

The effects of nano-Alumina (Al2O3) particles inclusion on the structural and superconducting transport properties of (Cu0.5Tl0.5)Ba2Ca2Cu3O10-delta (CuTl-1223) matrix were explored in detail. Different concentrations (i.e. y = 0-1.5 wt.%) of Al2O3 nanoparticles were added to a CuTl-1223 matrix to obtain the desired (Al2O3)(y)/CuTl-1223 nano-superconducting composites. No significant change was observed in the crystal structure and stoichiometry of the host CuTl-1223 superconducting phase after the addition of Al2O3 nanoparticles. This indicates the occupancy of these nanoparticles at the inter-granular spaces. The superconductivity was suppressed with increasing Al2O3 nanoparticles contents in the CuTl-1223 matrix. The suppression of superconducting properties is most probably due to a pair-breaking mechanism caused by the reflection/scattering of carriers across the insulating nano-Al2O3 particles present at the grain boundaries. The non-monotonic variation of the superconducting properties may be due to inhomogeneous distribution of Al2O3 nanoparticles at the grain boundaries.