Abstract
The pure YBCO (YBa
2Cu
3O
7) and its variant antimony containing composites with general formula; Y
1+
x
Sb
x
Ba
2Cu
3O
z
, where
x
=
0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6
mol%, respectively, were prepared by the solid-state reaction route. X-ray measurements indicated that Sb
3+ ions have a negligible effect on the main crystalline structure and substitutes Y-sites successfully in lattice structure of 123-YBCO at low concentrations of doping (
x
=
0.1
→
0.2). From SE-microscopy mapping and EDX elemental analysis, Sb
3+ was detected qualitatively with good approximation to the actual molar ratio but not observed at 123-YBCO grain boundaries which confirm that antimony (III) has diffused regularly into material bulk of superconducting 123-YBCO-phase at low concentrations. Additions of Sb(III) affected sharply on the main vibrating modes of YBCO regime particularly, on the apical oxygen (O
4) vibrational mode
A
1g. Magnetic susceptibility measurements proved that antimony oxide additions have slight effect on the transport properties of YBCO-composites regime.