In order to investigate the influence of water processing in slurry fabrication on the microstructure and oxygen permeation of Ba1.0Co0.7Fe0.2Nb0.1O3−δ membranes, disk-shaped membranes were made from powders with/without water processing. The membranes were checked by using X-ray diffraction, SEM and oxygen permeation measurements. It was found that the barium of the material dissolved in water during slurry fabrication, and the A-site stoichiometric ratio was 0.986 because of the water processing. The oxygen permeation flux of water-treated membrane was 25.2% lower than that of original membrane after sintering at 1110C. With increasing sintering temperature, the oxygen permeation of water-treated membranes almost recovered and was only 7% lower than the original membrane when sintered at 1150C.

Influence of Barium Dissolution on Microstructure and Oxygen Permeation Performance of Ba1.0Co0.7Fe0.2Nb0.1O3-δ Membrane in Aqueous Medium. Z.Geng, W.Ding, H.Wang, C.Wu, P.Shen, X.Meng, Y.Gai, F.Ji: Journal of Membrane Science, 2012, 403-404, 140-5