Addition of Iridium to the Biopolymer Mediated Synthesis of YBa2Cu3O7 δ

This work represents the first study into the addition of iridium into the solgel synthesis of the high temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7δ (Y123). Through a biopolymermediated synthetic approach, the homogeneous nature of the precursor sol and the preferred nucleation and growth of Y123 phases allow for a high yield of superconducting nanoparticles with no suppression of the superconducting critical temperature, even at high levels (40 wt%) of iridium addition. We attribute this to iridium not substituting into the Y123 crystal lattice, instead forming an associate phase.