Preparation and Superconductivity of a Series of Bi2CaSr2-XBaxCu2O8+δ

By means of the addition of Ba into the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O 2122 system, a series of Bi₂CaSr_2-xBa_xCu₂O_8+δ (0 ≤ × ≤ 2) quinary metal oxides were prepared by the citrate route and by the conventional powder reaction method. The samples prepared by the former method have better properties than the latter. It was found that 5 was not equal to zero for all of them and that it increased with decreasing Tc. Two phases were indentified in the oxides containing all five metal elements. One is the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O 2122 phase, the other is a new insulating phase which probably contains Bi-Ca-Ba-Cu-O with undetermined stoichiometry. Superconductivity was found in those samples for which × ≤ 1.50 with their Tc onsets between 93–78 K by resistivity measurements. Superconductivity decreased monotonically with increasing x. However, residual resistance was found in those samples for which 1.00 ≤ × ≤ 1.50, The Meissner effect appears in the samples where × ≤ 1.00 with Tc onsets between 88–80 K. For x = 1.75 and 2.00, the samples were semiconductors with resistivities of 6.66 × 10² and 6.96 × 10³ Ω cm at 290 K, and activation energies of 0.109, and 0.298 eV, respectively.