Chemically prepared precursor powder for the fabrication of melt processed YBCO

YBaCuO precursor powder specifically for the fabrication of melt processed ceramic has been prepared by spray drying and subsequent calcination. The formation processes of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/(-/spl delta/) and Y/sub 2/BaCuO/sub 5/ have been studied in detail using thermal analysis and powder X-ray diffractometry. The morphology, microstructure and size distribution of the particles in the calcined powder have been investigated using high resolution SEM and particle size analysis and found to contain a significant proportion of sub-micron sized particles of Y/sub 2/BaCuO/sub 5/. Melt processed samples prepared using spray dried powder have been observed to exhibit a fine distribution of 211 particles which is desirable for high J/sub c/ applications.<
>