Effect of the fabrication process on the electrical properties of polycrystalline Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3O10

Polycrystalline Bi1.7Pb0.3Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (BPSCCO) was successfully prepared by the sol-gel method, and excellent electrical properties were obtained by optimizing the preparation process. The crystalline structures of the samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the temperature dependence of the resistance was measured using the standard four-probe method. A systematic comparison of the effects of different chelating agents on the preparation of polycrystalline BPSCCO was carried out. When glucose acid (GA) was employed as the chelating agent, high-quality polycrystalline BPSCCO (Tconset=114.3 K) was obtained. Furthermore, the influence of the heat treatment procedure on polycrystalline BPSCCO was also investigated. The experimental results show that the crystallographic and electrical properties of the samples can be improved by controlling the processing conditions, including the calcination and sintering temperatures.