Synthesis and properties of YBa2Cu3O7-delta made by a modified hydroxycarbonate method

YBa2Cu3O7-delta was synthesised using a solution method, The coprecipitation of the stoichiometric amounts of nitrate solution of yttrium, barium and copper was performed using a mixture of NaOH, Na2CO3 and H2C2O4 in a molar ratio 5:1:1 as precipitation agent. The as-obtained precursors have a copper deficiency of 0.1 with respect to the nominal stoichiometry of the starting solution, The mechanistic study of the product formation has revealed that in these atomically mixed precursors the individual components have a different behaviour with respect to those in a mechanical mixture. The final products was obtained after heat treatment at 950 degrees C for 6 h in oxygen atmosphere, The product was analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDXS and four probe DC resistivity measurements, The as-synthesised YBCO has shown good superconducting properties T-c(R = 0) = 90.5 K and Delta T = 1 K, This method was used with success in the fabrication of YBCO laser ablation.