The effects of attrition and ball milling on the properties of magnesium diboride

Journal article

Commercially produced magnesium diboride powder was modified by attrition milling and ball milling in propan-2-ol for various durations. These powders were characterized by means of particle size distribution measurements using laser diffraction, impurity analysis using x-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, and were then used to produce magnesium diboride samples through pressureless heat treatment at peak temperatures up to 1100 °C. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Vickers hardness measurements, and density measurements using the Archimedes method were used to characterize the properties of the samples, and a determination of their superconducting properties using the magnetization method was carried out. Magnesium diboride produced from powder milled under certain conditions had a higher J c, mag than samples produced from as-purchased powder, but the relationship between the milling duration or energy and the superconducting performance is a complex one, affected by both the particle size and the impurity content of the starting powder. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Authors: Dancer, C; Prabhakaran, D; Crossley, A; Todd, R; Grovenor, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Journal: Superconductor Science and Technology
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 065015-065015
• Publication date: 2010-06-01
• DOI: 10.1088/0953-2048/23/6/065015
• EISSN: 1361-6668
• ISSN: 0953-2048
• Language: English