UNIT 5 Superconductor... Nanomaterials
UNIT 5 Superconductor... Nanomaterials
UNIT 5 Superconductor... Nanomaterials
Superconductivity: Certain metals and alloys exhibit almost zero resistivity (i.e. infinite
conductivity), when they are cooled to sufficiently low temperatures. This effect is called
superconductivity.
Temperature dependence of resistivity in superconducting materials:
A superconductor is a material that exhibits zero resistance at and below a critical temperature,
Tc
as shown in Figure. The temperature at which the transition from normal state to
superconducting state takes place on cooling in the absence of magnetic field is called critical
temperature or transition temperature.
Properties of superconductors:-
1. It is a low temperature phenomenon.
2. The transition temperature is different for different substances.
3. Materials having high normal resistivities exhibit superconductivity.
4. Materials for whichsuperconductivity.
Persistent Current:
If a ring made of a superconductor is placed in a magnetic field above its critical temperature, now
cool the ring of superconductor below its critical temperature and now if we remove the magnetic field
a current is induced in ring due to its self-inductance. By Lenz law the direction of this induced current
is such that it opposes the change in flux passing through the ring. As the ring is in superconducting
state (zero resistance), the current induced is ring will be continue to flow this current is called the
persistent current. This persistent current produce a magnetic flux which makes the magnetic flux
passing through the ring constant.
Type I and type II superconductors:-
Based on the diamagnetic response superconductors can be classified into two types.
Type I superconductors: The metals which exhibit zero resistivity at low temperatures and have the
property of excluding magnetic fields from the interior of the superconductor (Meissner effect). They are
called Type I superconductors (also is known as soft superconductors). The superconductivity exists only
below their critical temperatures and below a critical magnetic field strength. Type I superconductors are
well described by the BCS theory.
Examples: - Al, Zn, Hg and Sn
Super
M conducting Normal
state
state
H Hc
Type II superconductors:-
Superconductors made from alloys are called Type II superconductors. Besides being mechanically
harder than Type I superconductors, they exhibit much higher critical magnetic fields. Type II
superconductors such as niobium-titanium (NbTi) are used in the construction of high
field superconducting magnets.
Type-II superconductors usually exist in a mixed state of normal and superconducting regions. This is
sometimes called a vortex state, because vortices of superconducting currents surround filaments or
cores of normal material.
In type II superconductors, the specimen is in pure superconducting state up to the field 𝐻𝐶1
(lower critical field) when the field is increased beyond 𝐻𝐶2 (upper critical state) the magnetic
flux lines start penetrating. The specimen is in mixed state between 𝐻𝐶1and𝐻𝐶2.
Above𝐻 𝐶2 , the specimen is in normal state. These superconductors are known as hard
superconductors.
Normal
Super state
M
conductin
Vortex
g state region
HC 1
HC 2
Examples: - Zr, Nb
The superconducting material shows some extraordinary properties which make them very important for
modern technology. The research is still going on to understand and utilise these extraordinary properties
of superconductors in various fields of technology. Such properties of superconductors are listed below-
Nanomaterials :
The particles are made with extremely tiny materials to possess unique physical as well as chemical
properties are referred to as nonmaterial. The single dimension of this material is less or equivalent to 100
nanometers.
Nanotechnology is the most common term which deals with nanoscale materials. This technology is to
make use of minute objects. The property of the materials changes when the bulk is split into small sizes.
The nanoscale materials possess unique properties in the fields of electronic, optical or mechanical, etc.
Even in ancient days, these materials are used as dyes in ceramics. The insulators at the molecular stages
can behave as conductors at this nanoscale. The behavior of the nanomaterials is based on the surface area
rather than the composition present in the particle. The usage of the nanomaterials in
the microprocessors leads to an increment in the density of the transistors.
The nano-sized particles are available in nature. It can be created from carbons or any minerals like silver.
They must have the dimension lying from 1 nm to about 100 nm. The lab microscopes are used for
observing these materials because they are not visible to the naked eye.
Properties
The quantum properties of the materials get affected as the sizes are reduced. The small size of these
materials makes them free from internal imperfections present in structures and gain protection from
mechanical failures. Even thermal and catalytic properties are observed once the bulk material is broken
down to the nanoscale. An increase in the ratio of the area of the surface to volume leads the system to
become more reactive. These materials can rearrange the crystalline structure on dispersion.
Examples
In the field of cosmetics, the material called titanium oxide is used in the sunscreens. The field of sports
utilizes nanotubes of carbons to produce bats used in baseball. Because the bats made from this will be
lighter in weight resulting in the improvement of performance. Further, antimicrobial items like mats and
towels are made using nanotechnology so that illness due to bacteria can be prevented and are used by
sportspersons.
The systems made of sensors use nanomaterials called titanium dioxide in their development. It is helpful
in the military to detect the presence of biological agents. The plastic chairs used in gardens uses the
coatings of nanomaterial called titanium dioxide. A film on the creating is created so that any dirt is
dissolved can be removed with the next shower. and cleans the chairs.
Classification of Nanomaterials
Zero Dimension: These materials don’t have any dimensions. Point materials including oxides,
semiconductors, quantum dots, hollow spheres, etc.
One Dimension: The one billionth of any given unit that is a film of thin type is known as one dimension
nanoparticles. It is used in engineering, electronics, chemistry, and so on for many decades. These are used
in the construction of nanorods, nanowires, nanotubes, etc.
Two Dimension: This structure consists of two dimensions that are outside the range of nanometric size. It
has characteristics dependent upon the shapes. Monolayer, Multilayer, Self- assembled, etc. comes under
this category.
Three Dimension: In this, the structure consists of three dimensions. These are most widely used in
magnetic materials, catalysts, and so on. These 3-D structures are further categorized as Fullerenes,
Dendrimers, and Quantum Dots.
From the classification, it is evident that the behavior of these particles is purely based on shapes, sizes,
morphologies, and dimensions.
Quantum wires : Quantum wires are extremely narrow structures where electron transport is
possible only in a very few transverse modes. Quantum wires can be used as electron waveguides.
Semiconductor quantum wires have been used to make switchable high-speed lasers. A quantum wire is an
electrically conducting wire in which quantum effects influence the transport properties. Usually such
effects appear in the dimension of nanometers, so they are also referred to as nanowires. These are one-
dimensional (1D) structures in which electrons are free to move in one direction, while quantization occurs
in the remaining two directions. They appear like tubes and wires with diameters in the nanometer range
and lengths of several micrometers.
Sol-Gel Synthesis: The sol-gel technique is a long-established industrial process for the generation of
colloidal nanoparticles from the liquid phase, which has been further developed in the last years for the
production of advanced nanomaterials and coatings. Sol-gel-processes are well adapted for oxide
nanoparticles and composites nanopowders synthesis. The main advantages of sol-gel techniques for the
preparation of materials are low temperature of processing, versatility, and flexible archeology allowing
easy shaping and embedding. They offer unique opportunities for access to organic-inorganic materials.
The most commonly used precursors of oxides are alkoxides, because of their commercial availability and
the high liability of the M-OR bond allowing facile tailoring in situ during processing.Sol-gel is one of the
simple wet chemical techniques suitable for the preparation of nanoparticles (mostly oxides) and
nanocrytalline thin films. It is a superior method to all available methods since this method is employed for
large scale production at low cost.This method is based on inorganic polymerization reaction including
hydrolysis, polycondensation, gelation, aging, drying and calcinations or sintering.
Nanomaterials : Applications
Nanomaterials are utilized in various processes of manufacturing, health care, products as well as
insulation, and so on. Some of the most important applications are listed as follows:
1) The applications of bioimaging prefer these materials. Because these particles can possess to vary
the intensity of the colors in the solutions. This is made possible by changing the thickness of the
shell, the percentage of gold, and the aspect ratio.
2) The nano-size particles such as gold will melt at lower temperatures in comparison to the bulkier
ones.
3) Nanomaterials are utilized in various processes of manufacturing, health care, products as well as
insulation, and so on.
4) Health care consisting of artificially developed enzymes are made from these nanomaterials. These
enzymes are useful in the diagnosis of a tumor and biosensing
5) The paints using materials protect from UV rays and are convenient during cleaning.
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