Effect of nominal composition on the superconductivity inLa2CuO4y

Abstract
Samples of La2CuO4 prepared with a nominal stoichiometry slightly deficient in lanthanum (i.e., La1.9CuO4) show a greater diamagnetic susceptibility and a sharper resistive transition than samples prepared from stoichiometric amounts of starting materials. The effect of adding K2CO3 to the reaction mixture is also discussed.