Synthesis of porous high-temperature superconductors via a melamine formaldehyde sacrificial template

Nanostructured high-temperature superconductors YBa2Cu3O6+delta and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta were synthesised using a melamine formaldehyde sponge as a sacrificial template, via three solution-based approaches. In the case of YBa2Cu3O6+delta, a modified Pechini method produced a material with a superconducting transition at 92 K and a specific surface area of 4.22 m(2) g(-1). Further analysis with Hg porosimetry determined that the sponge exhibited a porosity of 82%. In the case of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta, this method produced a material that exhibited superconductivity at 86 K with a specific surface area of 9.62 m(2) g(-1). Hg-porosimetry determined that the BSCCO sponge exhibited a porosity of 78%.

Automated summary

In this study, nanostructured high-temperature superconductors YBa2Cu3O6+delta and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta were successfully synthesized using three solution-based approaches with a melamine formaldehyde sponge as a sacrificial template. The modified Pechini method produced YBa2Cu3O6+delta samples with a superconducting transition temperature of 92 K and a specific surface area of 4.22 m(2) g(-1), while Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta samples exhibited superconductivity at 86 K and a specific surface area of 9.62 m(2) g(-1) using the same method. The porosity of the sponges was determined to be 82% for YBa2Cu3O6+delta and 78% for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta using Hg porosimetry.