ABSTRACTA comparison of the use of three different coordination compounds of copper as precursors for the sol-gel synthesis of YBa2Cu3O7-δ has been made. For yttrium, the tris(isopropoxide) was used exclusively, while the use of both Ba(O-i-Pr)2 and Ba(OCH2CH2OEt)2 (prepared in situ from Ba metal) as sources for Ba were studied. After dissolving Y(O-i-pr)3, a Ba source, and the copper(I) alkoxide, [Cu(O-i-Bu)]4, hydrolysis led immediately to an orange gelatinous solid which yielded YBa2Cu3O7-δ upon firing in oxygen. Copper(II) acetate was found to give heterogeneous mixtures under our conditions and was not further studied. Copper(II) acac (acac = acetylacetonate) yielded the best results. Partially hydrolyzed solutions of Cu(acac)2, Ba(OCH2CH2OEt)2, and Y(O-i-pr)3 were spin coated on SrTi03 (100) and fired under oxygen to give oriented (b axis normal to the surface) thin films of YBa2Cu3O7-δ. The onset of superconductivity for the films was 92 K, but they did not reach zero resistance until much lower temperatures.
Sol-gel preparation of Zn-V-Mn-O thin films for low voltage varistor applications