The Decomposition of YBa₂Cu₃O₇₋δ Doped into Ba₂YRuO₆

Abstract

One of the persistent criticisms of claims for observation of superconductivity in Ba2YRu1−uCuuO6 (O6) is that the diamagnetism is actually due to the decomposition of the material into YBa2Cu3O7−delta and other phases. We report a series of experiments in which YBa2Cu3O7−delta is doped into Ba2YRuO6 and carried through a series of sintering steps which were followed by magnetization, neutron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy/microprobe measurements. It was found that the dopant YBa2Cu3O7−delta decomposed and failed to reform with cooling. It is concluded that the O6 phase is the stable high-temperature phase. The Cu released from the Y123 decomposition doped the host Ba2YRuO6, in partial substitution for Ru. This doping resulted in a small diamagnetic response with an onset temperature of ~84 K