Vickers Microhardness Studies for SmBa2Cu3O7-δ Added with NiO Nanosized Particles

The effect of nanosized particles NiO addition on the Vickers microhardness of polycrystalline SmBa2Cu3O7-δ was investigated. Various amounts of nanosized particles NiO (x = 0.00, 0.02, 0.04, 0.08, and 0.12 wt%) were added to SmBa2Cu3O7-δ prepared by the solid-state reaction method. Sample characterizations were carried out using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The nanosized particle addition does not influence the orthorhombic structure of SmBa2Cu3O7-δ, whereas it affects the oxygen content δ. The electrical and mechanical properties of (NiO)xSmBa2Cu3O7-δ samples were measured using four-standard probe technique and Vickers microhardness in order to investigate the effect of NiO nanosized particles on superconducting transition temperature and Vickers microhardness number Hv. The Vickers microhardness data were analyzed using Hays and Kendall (HK), elastic plastic deformation (EPD), and modified proportional specimen resistance (MPSR) models. The analysis showed that the MPSR model was found to be the best to describe the behavior of Hv.