A simple volumetric method for oxygen content determination in high-Tc doped YBCO compositions

We have developed a simple volumetric method for oxygen content determination in high-T-c materials. Application of this method in Fe and Co doped YBa2Cu3Oy systems is presented in this paper. This method shows several advantages. First, the apparatus is simple and inexpensive, so it can be widely used. Second, the operational procedure is simple and time saving. Moreover, the oxygen contents determined using this method are quite accurate. According to the error analysis, we found that the experimental accuracy can be improved further by reducing the original gas volume in the apparatus and increasing the sample mass. Besides the high-T-c copper oxides, this method can also be used to determine the oxygen content of other materials such as the colossal magnetoresistance materials. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.