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The Synthesis and Characterization of YBa2Cu3O7-x Superconductor Added
with Ho2O3 (0.0, 0.3, 0.7 WT %) Nanoparticles
Nur Sakinah binti Hasan
Supervisor: Dr. Aima binti Ramli
Bachelor of Applied Science (Electronics and Instrumentation Physics)
School of Ocean Engineering
YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor is an element when cooled below a certain critical
temperature,Tc it can allow current to flow with no resistance. It can be added with
any suitable element to increase its superconducting properties. In this research the
influence of Ho2O3 addition (0, 0.3, 0.7 wt%) in the YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductor was
investigated via solid state method. The optimum temperature for sintering was
determined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) which is at 920 O C. The phase
formation from XRD analysis showed that all samples are predominant Y-123 in
orthorhombic structure with the presence of secondary phase Y-211 and impurities of
Ho2O3. Detailed external surface morphology was investigated using SEM. The grain
size increased for sample 0.3wt% Ho2O3 due to increasing of nucleation and
crystallization. On the other hand, the grain size decreased for sample 0.7wt% Ho2O3
due to agglomeration of Ho2O3 nanoparticles in the samples.
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