Publications

(Mn2O3)x SmBa2Cu3O7-δ composite samples (0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.08 wt.%) were prepared using solid state reaction technique, and investigated using resistivity measurements and the Vickers microhardness. The characterisation of the prepared samples was accomplished using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The Mn2O3 nanoparticles do not influence the orthorhombic structure of SmBa2Cu3O7- δ and stay as adhering material producing a filling up of the voids and reducing the cracks. BET measurements show a decrease in the specific surface area as well as in the total pore volume for x = 0.02 wt.%, confirming the SEM results. The superconducting transition temperature Tc of the prepared samples was investigated using electrical resistivity measurements. Results showed that Tc increases from 91.68 K to 94.43 K as x increases from 0.00 to 0.02 wt.%, then it decreases as nano-Mn2O3 wt.% concentration increases. The mechanical properties of (Mn2O3)xSmBa2Cu3O7-δ samples were measured using Vickers microhardness in order to investigate the effect of Mn2O3 nanoparticles on Vickers microhardness number Hv. The Vickers microhardness data were analysed using Meyer’s law, Hays and Kendall (HK), and Modified Proportional Specimen Resistance (MPSR) models. The analysis showed that the HK is the best model to describe the load dependence of Hv for all samples.