Superconducting YB

We utilize a high-pressure solid-state technique to prepare yttrium hexaboride (YB6) nanowires at very low temperatures of 200–240 °C. The obtained YB6 nanowires are single-crystals grown along [001] direction confirmed by HRTEM and SAED images. From the growth morphology at different time stages an...
Ausführliche Beschreibung

We utilize a high-pressure solid-state technique to prepare yttrium hexaboride (YB6) nanowires at very low temperatures of 200–240 °C. The obtained YB6 nanowires are single-crystals grown along [001] direction confirmed by HRTEM and SAED images. From the growth morphology at different time stages and EDS evidence, we proposed that YB6 nanowires are nucleated and grown from the submicron particle clusters. The temperature-dependent magnetization results indicate that YB6 nanostructures undergo a superconducting transition with T c = 7.8 K, which is higher than that of reported YB6 bulk single-crystals. Furthermore, the YB6 nanostructures reveal a peak effect in superconducting state observed from the magnetic hysteresis loops, approving that YB6 belongs to a type-II superconductor. The lower and upper critical magnetic fields, Hc1 and Hc2, are determined to be 251 Oe and 1104 Oe, respectively. Ausführliche Beschreibung