The Effect of Wet Ball Milling in the Production Process of YBaCu Composite Oxide on its Superconducting Properties

Abstract

The effects of wet milling of YBaCu oxide in ethanol and in n-hexane with a vibration ball mill on the superconducting properties of calcined powders and sintered pellets have been examined with a focus on first-stage milling before calcination in the preparation process. As a result, it was found that there is an optimum range of milling time in both cases.
In the wet milling in n-hexane, it was confirmed that the prolonged milling causes agglomeration of particles as in dry grinding, which is considered to be one of the reasons for the degradation of the superconductivity of calcined powder.
On the other hand, the elementary analysis by EPMA of the treated powder by wet milling in ethanol showed that the change in degree of mixing of each element agreed well with the tendency of variation in the superconducting props of the calcined powder and sintered pellet.