Nanodiamond: A New Tool for Artificial Pinning Center Introduction in YBCO Films Obtained Through Chemical Solution Deposition

The ex situ chemical solution deposition route for YBa
₂
Cu
₃
O
_7-δ
(YBCO) epitaxial nanocomposite films' growth is one of the most promising approaches for low-cost and large-scale production of coated conductors for high magnetic field applications. A key advantage of this method is that the nanoparticle (NP) dimension, concentration, and composition can be finely controlled and defined before the deposition process. However, in order to scale up the ex situ process, important and challenging problems remain to be solved, because NPs coalescence, precipitation, and reactivity can cause film-quality degradation. With the aim of overcoming these issues, the possibility of improving YBCO properties by the use of nanodiamond (ND) as artificial pinning center (APC) has been investigated. ND and, in general, carbon-based nanomaterials (CBN) are certainly among the most promising materials developed in the recent years due to their unique mechanical and electronic properties. Among the many proposed applications for CBN, their use in the field of high critical temperature superconductors has not still been fully developed, despite the undoubted advantages in terms of stability and size control of NP. In the present work, the effect of ND addition to YBCO precursor solution on structural and morphological film properties has been estimated and preliminary results have been used to understand if ND can be considered a reliable new tool for APC introduction.