Creating YBCO: Melting Down and Doping for Superconductivity

[Strange_matter]

Once synthesized, can YBCO be melted down to add more material or change the doping and still result in a functional superconductor?

 

[Bystander]

Why would you want to do such a thing? It's literally "dirt cheap."

 

[Strange_matter]

Why would you want to do such a thing? It's literally "dirt cheap."

I want a single, very large sample of YBCO for an idea I have. Also, could you link to where I could buy some cheaply? I've only really seen it being sold in demonstration kits, which can cost around $40 and don't have very much material.

 

[ZapperZ]

I want a single, very large sample of YBCO for an idea I have. Also, could you link to where I could buy some cheaply? I've only really seen it being sold in demonstration kits, which can cost around $40 and don't have very much material.

You can't change doping in a controlled manner this way. For example, to get an overdoped samples, you have to anneal it in a high-pressure O2 environment.

Not only that, I would imagine that melting it will severely alter the crystal structure of the bulk. At the very least, most likely, it will not be a single-crystal sample. For many condensed matter studies, this is a huge disadvantage.

And this is before we even consider that melting it will change its composition, if it will react with the vessel and the environment that you are melting it in, and if this is actually a hazardous process (notice that the elements involved here are toxic by themselves!).

Zz.

 

[Strange_matter]

You can't change doping in a controlled manner this way. For example, to get an overdoped samples, you have to anneal it in a high-pressure O2 environment.

Not only that, I would imagine that melting it will severely alter the crystal structure of the bulk. At the very least, most likely, it will not be a single-crystal sample. For many condensed matter studies, this is a huge disadvantage.

And this is before we even consider that melting it will change its composition, if it will react with the vessel and the environment that you are melting it in, and if this is actually a hazardous process (notice that the elements involved here are toxic by themselves!).

Zz.

So, the synthesis process is basically irreversible? Also, would initial synthesis of a large sample result in a single crystal?