Effect of Sintering Temperature on Microstructure and Hydrogen Permeation Properties of Perovskite Membrane

The BaCe 0.9 Y 0.1 O 3− δ (BCY) perovskite membrane was successfully synthesized by liquid citrate method. The phase structure of the powder was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize microstructures of the membrane sintered under various conditions. Sintering temperatures and dwell time during sintering influence the final microstructure of the ceramic. Results showed that increasing sintering temperature resulted in a dense membrane with clear grains. An increase of dwell time was favorable to produce membranes with larger grains in the sintered ceramics. A density of 5.87 g/cm 3 was reached for the membrane after sintering at 1200 °C with dwell time of 10 h. This resulted in the formation of dense membranes with clear structure and average grain size of 0.27 μm. The influence of microstructure on the hydrogen permeation flux through BCY was observed by measuring the hydrogen permeation flux, and the results showed that hydrogen permeation flux increases with increasing the average grain size of the membrane. From H 2 permeation rates, it was found that bulk diffusion rather than surface reaction played the dominant role in H 2 transport.