Carbon coating approach is used to prepare carbon-doped $MgB_2$ bulk samples using low-cost naphthalene ($C_{10}H_8$) as a carbon source. The coating of carbon (C) on boron (B) powders was achieved by direct pyrolysis of naphthalene at $120^{\circ}C$ ...
Carbon coating approach is used to prepare carbon-doped $MgB_2$ bulk samples using low-cost naphthalene ($C_{10}H_8$) as a carbon source. The coating of carbon (C) on boron (B) powders was achieved by direct pyrolysis of naphthalene at $120^{\circ}C$ and then the C-coated B powders were mixed well with appropriate amount of Mg by solid state reaction method. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that there is a noticeable shift in (100) and (110) Bragg reflections towards higher angles, while no shift was observed in (002) reflections for $MgB_2$ doped with carbon. As compared to un-doped $MgB_2$, a systematic enhancement in $J_c(H)$ properties with increasing carbon doping level was observed for naphthalene-derived C-doped $MgB_2$ samples. The substantial enhancement in $J_c$ is most likely due to the incorporation of C into $MgB_2$ lattice and the reduction in crystallite size, as evidenced by the increase in the FWHM values for doped samples.