Plasma Synthesized Doped Boron Nanopowder for MgB2 Superconductors

Under this program, a process to synthesize nano-sized doped boron powder by a plasma synthesis process was developed and scaled up from 20 gram batches at program start to over 200 grams by program end. Over 75 batches of boron nanopowder were made by RF plasma synthesis. Particle sizes were typically in the 20-200 nm range. The powder was synthesized by the reductive pyrolysis of BCl{sub 3} in hydrogen in an RF plasma. A wide range of process parameters were investigated including plasma power, torch geometry, gas flow rates, and process pressure. The powder-in-tube technique was used to make monofilament and multifilament superconducting wires. MgB{sub 2} wire made with Specialty Materials plasma synthesized boron nanopowder exhibited superconducting properties that significantly exceeded the program goals. Superconducting critical currents, J{sub c}, in excess of 10{sup 5} A cm{sup -2} at magnetic fields of 8 tesla were reproducibly achieved. The upper critical magnetic field in wires fabricated with program boron powder were H{sub c2}(0) = 37 tesla, demonstrating the potential of these materials for high field magnet applications. T{sub c} in carbon-doped MgB{sub 2} powder showed a systematic decrease with increasing carbon precursor gas flows, indicating the plasma synthesis process can give precise control over dopant concentrations. Synthesis rates increased by a factor of 400% over the course of the program, demonstrating the scalability of the powder synthesis process. The plasma synthesis equipment at Specialty Materials has successfully and reproducibly made high quality boron nanopowder for MgB{sub 2} superconductors. Research and development from this program enabled Specialty Materials to successfully scale up the powder synthesis process by a factor of ten and to double the size of its powder pilot plant. Thus far the program has been a technical success. It is anticipated that continued systematic development of plasma processing parameters, dopant chemistry and concentration, wire processing technology, and collection technology will lead to the commercialization of boron nanopowder as a precursor for MgB{sub 2} superconductors. Potential commercial applications include magnets for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fault current limiters, wind turbine generators