A significant improvement in the superconducting properties of MgB 2 by co-doping with graphene and nano-SiC

The effects of graphene (G) and nanosilicon carbide (SiC) co-doping on the superconducting properties of MgB2 were studied using bulk samples. SiC remains one of the best dopants which can significantly improve the high field performance, while graphene is emerging as a new dopant for MgB2, which can improve the zero field critical current density (J(c)). The superconducting properties characterized by J(c), the intergrain connectivity, and the critical fields were significantly improved by the use of both SiC and graphene as dopants. (c) 2012 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.