Supercoducting property of Zr-Cu-Al-Ni-Nb alloys

The superconducting property of Zr55Cu(30-X)Al10Ni5NbX alloys prepared by arc melting and liquid quenching methods was investigated by magnetic susceptibility measurements. The crystalline alloys with X = 0∼25 at.% prepared by arc melting method exhibited superconductivity with maximum Tc,on of 10.1 K. The alloys (X = 10∼23 at.%) with crystalline particles embedded in an amorphous structure, which were fabricated by melt spinning method, showed superconductivity with Tc,on of less than 4.0 K. The superconducting property of the Zr-Cu-Al-Ni-Nb alloys was attributed to superconducting phases of Zr2Cu, Zr2Ni, Zr65Al10Nb25 and Zr-Nb contained in the Zr-Cu-Al-Ni-Nb alloys. The melt-spun Zr55Cu(30-X)Al10Ni5NbX (X = 10∼20 at.%) alloys exhibited glass transition at 718∼743 K and were found to be superconducting metallic glasses.