Ce0.8Sm0.2O2−δ–PrBaCo2O5+δ dual-phase membrane: Novel preparation and improved oxygen permeability

Dual-phase oxygen permeation membrane has become much attractive due to its tailorable properties. On the premise of forming percolative network separately, decreasing the volume percentage of electronic conducting phase can increase the oxygen permeability of dual-phase membrane. However, the conventional ceramic route limits the decrease in threshold of the content of electronic conducting phase. In this work, a coating strategy is employed to fabricate a novel dual-phase membrane with 20 vol.% PrBaCo2O5+δ (PBCO) dispersing in 80 vol.% Ce0.8Sm0.2O2−δ (SDC) matrix, where the fiber-shaped PBCO forms percolative network and provides sufficient electronic conductivity. The prepared SDC-PBCO membrane with 1 mm thickness exhibits very high oxygen permeability, 3.81 × 10−7 mol cm−2 s−1 at 940 °C, due to the high volume percentage of SDC. This preparation strategy can be applied to other dual-phase membranes to improve the oxygen permeation performance.

► Fiber-like PBCO phase forms percolative electronic conducting network in SDC–PBCO dual-phase membrane.
► The threshold forming percolative network can be decreased to 20 vol.% for PBCO in SDC–PBCO membrane.
► The SDC–PBCO (8/2 in vol.) dual-phase membrane exhibits high oxygen permeability.