Aerosol flow reactor production of fine Y1Ba2Cu3O7 powder: Fabrication of superconducting ceramics

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Abstract
An aerosol flow reactor operating at 900–1000 °C is used to prepare high‐purity Y1Ba2Cu3O7 powders with a uniform chemical composition and a submicron to micron average particle size by thermally decomposing aerosol droplets of a solution consisting of the nitrate salts of Y, Ba, and Cu in a 1:2:3 ratio. The powders were at least 99% reacted based on thermogravimetric analysis, and the x‐ray diffraction pattern is essentially that of Y1Ba2Cu3O7. Magnetic susceptibility measurements showed the powders to be superconducting with a transition at 90 K even for average reactor residence times as short as 20 s. Sintering cold‐pressed pellets between 900 and 1000 °C provides dense, fine grained (average size on the order of 1 μm) superconducting ceramics with sharp 90 K transitions. The grain size and shape of a final sintered part could be varied depending on powder production, processing, and sintering conditions.