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Activation energies determined from Arrhenius plot for cobalt-boron liquid quenched amorphous alloys in the temperature range 40 K < T < 300 K , suggest vacancy and interstitial formation to nucleate crystalline phases in an amorphous matrix preferably at sites where dangling bonds are present. Nucleation of crystallites with preferential tetragonal or orthorhombic structures is a self-evolving process due to catalytic presence of dangling bonds in an amorphous material and that the occurrence of negative activation energies support this evidence.

Bi1.7-Pb0.3-Sr2-Ca2-Cu3-Ox superconducting samples were prepared at 855°C, 862 C, 870 C, and 882 C sintering temperatures respectively. All samples were sintered for 120 hours. The samples were then quenched in liquid nitrogen. The electrical resistivity measurements showed that the samples sintered at 870° C had the best Tc. For these samples the Tc onset was around 120 K and the zero resistance was obtained at 108 K. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the samples were multiphased.