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Enhanced superconducting properties in bulk MgB2 through spark plasma sintering of ball-milled and sieved crystalline boron

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Abstract

In this study, in situ bulk MgB2 superconducting samples were sintered using spark plasma sintering (SPS) and characterized through various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), microstructure evaluation, and magnetization measurements. XRD analysis confirmed that MgB2 was the primary phase, with a secondary phase of MgO present in the sintered samples. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed minimal porosity, and the bulk densities reached 95% of the theoretical value for MgB2, as calculated by mass volume. The samples exhibited remarkably high critical current densities (Jc), up to 405 kA/cm2 in self-field at 10 K, representing a 67% improvement over solid-state sintering. These high Jc values are attributed to the enhanced density of the bulk, which increases the superconducting area, which underscores the importance of density enhancement achieved through SPS and the MgB2 nanograins obtained via ball milling, and sieving of crystalline boron played a crucial role in this improvement.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available, due to the reasons of ethics and ownership, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

Malik Shadab, one of the authors, expresses gratitude to SIT for their financial assistance in supporting his doctoral program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials for Energy and Environmental Laboratory, Graduate School of Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, 3-7-5 Toyosu, Koto City, Tokyo, 135-8548, Japan

    Malik Shadab & Muralidhar Miryala

  2. Normandie Univ, ENSICAEN, UNICAEN, CNRS, CRISMAT, 14000, Caen, France

    Yiteng Xing & Jacques Noudem

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  1. Malik Shadab
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  2. Yiteng Xing
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  3. Jacques Noudem
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  4. Muralidhar Miryala
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Contributions

Conceptualization, MM; Methodology, MM; MS, Validation, MS, YX, MM—Original draft preparation, MS, MM; Writing—review and editing, MM and JN; Supervision, MM; Funding acquisition, MM.

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Correspondence to Muralidhar Miryala.

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Shadab, M., Xing, Y., Noudem, J. et al. Enhanced superconducting properties in bulk MgB2 through spark plasma sintering of ball-milled and sieved crystalline boron. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 1712 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-13475-7

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