Preparation and development of practical high-temperature superconducting materials

Superconducting materials exhibit zero-resistance, the Meissner effect, and quantum tunneling. Therefore, they are of profound practical significance and have immense developmental prospects in diverse domains such as electric power, health care, transportation, quantum computing, industry, national defense and scientific experimentation. Since the discovery of superconductivity in 1911, its theory, as well as the synthesis and application of superconducting materials, have seen significant progress. In recent years, with the steady improvement of preparation techniques, experimental research on high-temperature superconductivity has progressed to a stage of enhanced performance with potential breakthrough applications. This paper will briefly review the development and physical characteristics and classification of superconducting materials, then describe recent progress in the research on several significant practical high-temperature materials, including their lattice structures, characteristics, fabrication, and applications. Further enhancement of their performance for future applications will also be discussed.