Rapid Synthesis of Bi(Pb)-2212 Superconductor by Light Irradiation
摘要
Conventional solid-state synthesis of complex oxides is typically energy-intensive and time-consuming, often requiring several days of heating in a furnace. In this work, we demonstrate the rapid synthesis of the high-temperature superconductor Bi1.6Pb0.4Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi(Pb)-2212) using a novel photostimulated solid-state reaction (PSSR) technique. By irradiating precursor pellets with high-intensity light from a specialized halogen lamp setup, we successfully produced good quality superconducting Bi(Pb)-2212 in a total reaction time of just 100 min at 800 °C. This represents more than an order-of-magnitude acceleration compared to conventional furnace-based synthesis. Magnetization measurements reveal a clear superconducting transition at Tc ≈ 80 K, along with a substantial superconducting volume fraction, confirming the formation of bulk superconductivity. In contrast, samples prepared in a furnace under identical short-duration conditions predominantly form the Bi-2201 phase and exhibit a negligible superconducting fraction. The significant acceleration of the solid-state reaction under light irradiation is attributed to non-thermal processes induced by high-energy photons, which are hypothesized to weaken chemical bonds and enhance atomic diffusion. These results establish PSSR as a rapid and energy-efficient method for the synthesis of complex functional oxides.