Unveiling the Degradation Mechanism of High-Temperature Superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ in Water-Bearing Environments

Yuan Huang; Lei Zhang; Xiaocheng Zhou; Lei Liao; Feng Jin; Xu Han; Tao Dong; Shuxiang Xu; Lin Zhao; Yunyun Dai; Qiuzhen Cheng; Xinyu Huang; Qingming Zhang; Lifen Wang; Nan-Lin Wang; Ming Yue; Xuedong Bai; Yafei Li; Qiong Wu; Hong-Jun Gao; Genda Gu; Yeliang Wang; Xing-Jiang Zhou

doi:10.1021/acsami.2c08997

Unveiling the Degradation Mechanism of High-Temperature Superconductor Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ in Water-Bearing Environments

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2022 Aug 31;14(34):39489-39496. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c08997. Epub 2022 Aug 17.

Authors

Yuan Huang^{1

2}, Lei Zhang^{2

3}, Xiaocheng Zhou⁴, Lei Liao², Feng Jin², Xu Han¹, Tao Dong⁵, Shuxiang Xu⁵, Lin Zhao², Yunyun Dai¹, Qiuzhen Cheng², Xinyu Huang¹, Qingming Zhang², Lifen Wang², Nan-Lin Wang⁵, Ming Yue³, Xuedong Bai², Yafei Li⁴, Qiong Wu³, Hong-Jun Gao^{2

6}, Genda Gu⁷, Yeliang Wang^{1

8}, Xing-Jiang Zhou^{2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
² Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
³ Faculty of Materials and Manufacturing, Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Materials, Ministry of Education of China, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China.
⁴ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Power Batteries, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Centre of Biomedical Functional Materials, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023, China.
⁵ International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁶ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁷ Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, United States.
⁸ MIIT Key Laboratory for Low-Dimensional Quantum Structure and Devices, School of Integrated Circuits and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.

PMID: 35976742
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c08997

Abstract

The physical properties of copper oxide high-temperature superconductors have been studied extensively, such as the band structure and doping effects of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ (Bi-2212). However, some chemical-related properties of these superconductors are rarely reported, such as their stability in water-bearing environments. Herein, we report experiments combined with ab initio calculations that address the effects of water in contact with Bi-2212. The evolution of Bi-2212 flakes with exposure to water for different time intervals was tested and characterized by optical microscopy (OM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrical measurements. The thickness of Bi-2212 flakes is gradually decreased in water, and some thin flakes can be completely etched away after a few days. The stability of Bi-2212 in other solvents is also evaluated, including alcohol, acetone, HCl, and KOH. The morphology of Bi-2212 flakes is relatively stable in organic solvents. However, the flakes are etched relatively quick in HCl and KOH, especially in an acidic environment. Our results imply that hydrogen ions are primarily responsible for the deterioration of their properties. Both TEM and calculation results demonstrate that the atoms in the Bi-O plane are relatively stable when compared to the inner atoms in Sr-O, Ca-O, and Cu-O planes. This work contributes toward understanding the chemical stability of a Bi-2212 superconducting device in environmental medium, which is important for both fundamental studies and practical applications of copper oxide high-temperature superconductors.

Keywords: Bi-2212; TEM; degradation; high-temperature superconductor; stability; water.