Effects of praseodymium substitution on the growth and properties of Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-delta (0<x<0.4) single crystals

In the present paper, a modified self-flux technique has been successfully employed for the growth of pure and praseodymium substituted (partially) large single crystals of high temperature superconducting Y1-xPrxBa2Cu3O7-delta (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4). Typical sizes of the platy and bulky crystals of pure YBCO(123) material are approximate to 2 x 2 x 0.1 mm(3) and 4 x 1 x 1 mm(3), respectively. In case of Pr-substitution, the typical sizes of platy and bulky crystals of Y0.8Pr0.2Ba2Cu3O7-delta and Y0.6Pr0.4Ba2Cu3O7-delta materials are approximate to 2 x 3 x 0.1 mm(3) and 5 x 1 x 1 mm(3) and approximate to 1 x 1.5 x 0.1 mm(3) and 7 x 0.2 x 0.1 mm(3), respectively. The morphology and growth habit of the as-grown single crystals and the critical transition temperature (T-c) of the oxygenated crystals were found to depend on the Pr-content.