Influence of the interfacial phase on the structural integrity and oxygen permeability of a dual-phase membrane

Compositing fluorite Ce0.8Gd0.2O2-δ (CGO) oxide with perovskite La0.4Ba0.6Fe0.8Zn0.2O3-δ (LBFZ) oxide leads to the formation of a minor interfacial BaCeO3 phase upon sintering at 1400 °C. This interfacial composition assures a gastight ceramic membrane with fine grain-boundary structure, in which the LBFZ phase exhibits an improved oxygen permeability over the pristine LBFZ membrane on the same volumetric basis. The presence of the BaCeO3 phase effectively preserves the structural integrity of the composition by limiting the interfacial diffusion of barium ions between LBFZ and CGO. In comparison, replacing CGO with Y0.08Zr0.92O2-δ in the system results in a substantially low oxygen flux due to an overwhelming interfacial diffusion and, consequently, a heavy degradation of LBFZ. Besides structural reinforcement, the high interface between LBFZ and CGO benefits oxygen transport, as is proven through variation of the oxygen partial pressure on the feed side of the membrane and operation temperature. Furthermore, the trade-off between LBFZ loading and interfacial diffusion yields an optimal CGO loading at 40 wt %, which exhibits an oxygen flux of 0.84 cm(3)/cm(2)·min at 950 °C. In summary, the minor interfacial binding between CGO and LBFZ grains is constructive in easing oxygen crossover in the phase boundary with the exception of maintaining membrane structural stability under oxygen permeation conditions.