EFFECT OF ZIRCONIUM INCORPORATION INTO YBCO SUPERCONDUCTOR

The substitution of Y by Zr in the YBa2Cu3O7-delta has been investigat ed. A structural study has been performed in samples with nominal comp osition Y1-xZrxBa2Cu3O7-delta following different preparation procedur es by means of X-ray powder diffraction and Zr K-edge EXAFS spectrosco py. This work demonstrates that Zr does not replace Y in the YBa2Cu3O7 -delta structure, and a multiphase system is obtained. Magnetic and el ectrical measurements performed over these samples are in agreement wi th this structural description.