Effect of Heat-Treatment on the Crystallization of B Powder and Critical Current Density Property of MgB2 Superconductor

The crystallization effects of boron (B) powder on the phase, full width at half maximum (FWHM) values, and critical properties were investigated for in-situ reacted MgB2 bulk superconductors. The semi-crystalline B powder was heat-treated at different temperatures of 1000, 1300 and 1500 degrees C for 5 hours in an Ar atmosphere. Then, using as-received and heat-treated B powders, the MgB2 samples were prepared at 600 degrees C for 40 hours in an Ar atmosphere. As the heat-treatment temperature of the B powder increased, both the particle size of the B powder and crystalline phase increased. In the case of MgB2 samples using B powders heat-treated at above 1300 degrees C, unreacted magnesium (Mg) and B remained due to the improved crystallinity of the B powder. As the heat-treatment temperature of B powder increased, the critical current density of MgB2 decreased continuously due to the reduction of grain boundary density and superconducting volume caused by unreacted Mg and B.