Rijckaert H, Cayado P, Hänisch J, Billet J, Erbe M, Holzapfel B, Van Driessche I. Unravelling the Crystallization Process in Solution-Derived YBa
2Cu
3O
7-δ Nanocomposite Films with Preformed ZrO
2 Nanocrystals via Definitive Screening Design.
J Phys Chem Lett 2021;
12:2118-2125. [PMID:
33625860 DOI:
10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00135]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
A low-cost chemical solution deposition technique was employed to prepare YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) nanocomposite films starting from a colloidal solution containing preformed ZrO2 nanocrystals. As previous publications revealed, an increase in the amount of nanocrystals results in a progressive deterioration of the film properties. The parameters that control this process and their interplay are still unknown in detail. Using definitive screening design (DSD), a design-of-experiments approach, allowed determining which of the multiple growth parameters play a key role for improving the superconducting properties of YBCO nanocomposite films even with a large concentration of nanocrystals. In order to show the potential of DSD, it has been applied for the optimization of two different properties: the critical temperature Tc and the full width at half-maximum of the (005) YBCO reflection. This work shows that DSD is a powerful and efficient method that allows optimizing certain processes with a minimal number of experiments.
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