Assessing the Impact of UV Radiation on the Solution Blow Spinning Synthesis of YBCO Ceramic Nanofibers: A Preliminary Investigation
Alfonso Pulgar, Edimar Duran, Rafael Zadorosny, Rodolfo Izquierdo
São Paulo State University (UNESP)
Abstract:
Nanofibers constitute a special group of 1-D nanomaterials of great interest due to their important medical, environmental, and technological applications, among others. Many nanofibers are used as intermediates in the production of superconducting materials, which are those whose resistance to the passage of electric current is abruptly suppressed when cooled below its critical temperature (Tc). One of the most studied compounds among cuprate superconductors is YBCO. In addition, one technique applied to producing nanofibers is solution blow spinning (SBS). YBCO ceramics were produced using a precursor solution consisting of yttrium, barium and copper acetates, acrylic acid, ammonium hydroxide, methanol, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The viscosity of the solution was (69±3) cP. This solution was taken to the SBS system, obtaining polymer fibers. The influence of UV radiation was carried out through three experiments: applying UVC light for one hour to the polymeric fibers (1), to the solution in the absence of PVP (2), and the precursor solution (3). TG-DTG, FTIR, and UV-vis analyzed possible alterations. A slight increase in the degradation temperatures of PVP and a decrease in the crystallization temperature of YBCO were preliminarily observed in DTG analysis. FTIR and UV-vis also observed some changes in the bands in experiment 3, and in solubility tests, the appearance of insoluble products was observed in experiments 1 and 3, which could be attributed to the degradation or cross-linking of PVP.
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