# Antiferromagnetism in hydrated 123 compounds

## I Conclusions

Our copper NQR/ZFNMR studies of the reaction of YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>6.5</sub> compound with water vapour give straightforward evidence that “empty” CuO chains play the role of easy water insertion channels. The most ordered regions of the crystallites react most easily. The water insertion reaction proceeds very slowly at room temperature, but in 6 years in air, water reaches even samples packed in paraffin . At 100-200<sup>o</sup>C the reaction proceeds quickly (in few days). The final product of the reaction is a non-superconducting antiferromagnet characterized by at least two types of magnetically ordered copper ions with ZFNMR spectra at the frequency ranges of 46-96 and 96-135 MHz. This antiferromagnetic signal, indicating decomposition of the superconductor, was even detected in samples packed in Stycast and left at room temperature (normally deemed a safe storage procedure) for few years.

## II Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by the Russia Foundation for Basic Research, under Project 98-02-17687, by INTAS, under Grant 96-0393, and by the Russian Scientific Council on Superconductivity, under Project 98014.

## III Figure captions

Fig.1. Copper NQR spectra for YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>6.5</sub> with different water uptake $`z`$ (open circles, solid line, solid circles, dotted line and open triangles correspond to $`z=`$ 0; 0.14; 0.24; 0.55 and 1.2, respectively): a) as-taken spectra; b) slow-relaxing part of the spectra (Cu(1) spectra); c) fast-relaxing part. For details see text.

Fig.2. Copper ZFNMR spectra for YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>6.5</sub> with different water uptake $`z`$ (open and solid triangles and open and solid circles correspond to $`z=`$0.14; 0.24; 0.55 and 1.2, respectively): a) as-taken spectra; b) spectra normalized by water uptake; the spectrum for $`z=1.2`$ is normalized by 0.6.

Fig.3. The dependence of the superconducting volume fraction (solid circles), copper NQR spectra intensity (solid squares), NQR intensity of slow-relaxing Cu(1) nuclei (open squares) and ZFNMR intensity (triangles) on water uptake $`z`$. Straight lines represent the functions $`y=z`$ (solid line), $`y=1z`$ (dashed line) and $`y=12z`$ (dotted line).