Improvement in levitation force performance of bulk MgB2 superconductors through coronene powder adding

The effect of coronene (C24H12) addition on the levitation force properties of MgB2 superconductor has been investigated for the first time in this study. The polycrystalline disk-shaped MgB2 + y wt % C24H12 samples (y = 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10), were synthesized by a pellet/closed tube method at 850 degrees C under Ar atmosphere, after hot pressing at 200 degrees C. XRD analysis indicates a decrease in lattice parameters of coronene added samples and confirms substitution of carbon in boron sites. An increase in lattice strain and a decrease in grain size are observed due to the carbon substitution effect. Vertical and lateral levitation force measurements under zero-field-cooled and field-cooled regimes were carried out at different temperatures of 20, 25 and 30 K. It was found that the coronene addition significantly increases the high-field critical current density of MgB2. The J(c) values were obtained as 4.6 x 10(3) Acm(-2) and 1.3 x 10(4) Acm(-2) for pure and 4 wt % coronene added samples at 20 K and 4 T. In addition, the levitation force measurements show that 4 wt % coronene adding is very effective in increasing both the vertical and lateral levitation force performances at 20 K. The maximum levitation force for 4 wt % coronene added sample corresponds to 7.58 N/g whereas the reference sample shows 6.73 N/g at 20 K in ZFC regime. The results point out that the hydrocarbon of C24H12 is an effective carbon-containing additive for MgB2 and can be useful for optimizing the levitation performance of MgB2 superconductors for potential applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.