Chu, Paul C. W.2019-11-08August 2012019-08August 201https://hdl.handle.net/10657/5316This dissertation reports on an investigation into the longstanding mystery of why praseodymium barium cuprate is the only member of the $RBa_2Cu_3O_{7-y}$ family (which includes $RBa_2Cu_4O_8$ and $R_2Ba_4Cu_7O_{15}$) that has been synthesized with orthorhombic structure that is non-superconducting, juxtaposed with several contradictory reports of superconductivity. I walk through all of the possible contributors towards anomalous superconductivity based on existing reports: aluminum contamination/doping, alternate phases, and different stoichiometries. For all of these options, I find that the compounds are non-superconducting via magnetic and electronic measurements, only leaving the possibility of stress/strain induced superconductivity unexplored. In the process, I determine that the heat treatment reported to yield superconductivity in \PBCO (Pr123) results in the formation of significant quantities of $Pr_2Ba_1Cu_1O_5$ (Pr211) to form. I further establish that the three compounds: \PBCO, \PrTFS (Pr247), and $PrBa_2Cu_4O_8$ (Pr124), belong to a single incommensurate structure.application/pdfengThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).PraseodymiumSuperconductivity2019-11-08Thesisborn digital