cupratesceramic

Cuprate ceramics are ceramic materials based on copper oxide compounds that feature layered CuO2 planes embedded in a dielectric matrix. The best-known examples are high-temperature superconductors such as yttrium barium copper oxide (YBa2Cu3O7−δ, YBCO), bismuth-based cuprates (Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ, BSCCO) and lanthanum/strontium copper oxides (La2−xSrxCuO4, LSCO).

These materials adopt layered perovskite-like structures, in which superconductivity emerges from charge-carrier doping of the CuO2 planes. Undoped cuprates are Mott insulators; proper oxygen content and chemical substitution introduce holes that enable superconductivity. The critical temperature Tc depends on composition and oxygen stoichiometry, with YBCO achieving Tc around 92 K and some Bi-based cuprates exceeding 100 K under pressure or optimum doping.

Cuprate ceramics are typically produced by solid-state synthesis and high-temperature sintering, followed by oxygen annealing to set the desired dopant level. The resulting ceramics are brittle and highly anisotropic, and their superconducting properties are strongly influenced by grain boundaries, defects, and the alignment of CuO2 planes. Practical use favors textured polycrystalline tapes or thin films to improve current transport and pinning.

As materials, cuprate ceramics have been central to research on high-temperature superconductivity since their discovery in 1986 by Bednorz and Müller. They continue to be explored for applications in superconducting magnets, power cables, and electronic devices, though widespread commercial deployment is limited by fabrication costs and materials brittleness.