A team of US scientists says that flaws in materials might hold the key to their superconductive properties. Although researchers continually strive for purity and perfection in materials, Purdue University and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers say imperfections may play an important role in a material’s high-temperature superconductivity properties. They studied patterns of electrons on copper-oxygen based superconducting crystals known as cuprates, attempting to determine the effect impurities could have. “We want to move beyond trying to get rid of disorder, striving for unattainable purity in the materials we examine, and instead take the disorder into account and use it to our advantage,” said Purdue University associate professor Erica Carlson. “These little patches of imperfection where things aren’t lined up in a perfect crystal lattice are important.” The material, say researchers, should not be conductive, but in the right conditions, could be because of these electrons. The research could help scientists design better superconductors because they will be able to better use the material based on a fuller understanding of its properties. The researchers published their work in Nature Communications. (PhysOrg)(Purdue University)(Nature Communications)
