Epitaxial growth of Gd2Zr2O7/Y2O3 buffer layers for YBa2Cu3O7−δ coated conductors

► Gd2Zr2O7/Y2O3 buffers were developed on NiW tapes by MS and PLD, respectively. ► Gd2Zr2O7/Y2O3 buffers show a flat surface with a roughness about 2.5 nm. ► The X-ray in-plane alignment of the Gd2Zr2O7/Y2O3 buffers is less than 5°. ► YBCO film Tc and ΔTc are about 91.6 K and 0.8 K, with a Jc about 0.8 MA/cm2.