Abstract
Polycrystalline (YBa2Cu3Oy-d)(1-x)/(Dy2O3)(x) superconductor samples were produced through the solid-state reaction route and by adding amounts of x = 0.1 and 0.5 wt% of Dy2O3 nanoparticles (NP-Dy2O3 with a size of about 10 nm) during the second stage of heat treatment. The structural, microstructural, critical current density and pinning properties were investigated using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and DC magnetization at various temperatures ranging from 77 down to 10 K and under an applied magnetic field varying between -6 and +6 Tesla. Both samples crystallize in the orthorhombic structure. It was found that the Dy2O3 nanoparticles reside in the grain boundaries. Although the sample with 0.5 wt% NP-Dy2O3 is characterized by a low zero resistive temperature of about 78 K that is close to the useful temperature for technological applications, it showed the highest J(c) values and the excellent flux pinning capacity. The addition of an appropriate amount of NP-Dy2O3 up to 0.5 wt% extends the single bundle pinning regime and retards the liquid vortex regime.