Synthesis and Characterization of Perovskite Structured Ceramic Membranes for Selective Transportation of Hydrogen Ions

Abstract

Proton conducting solid oxide ceramic membranes of the type La IOCeO.8 YO.20 x (1), BaIOCeO.8 Y0.20X (2) and SrIOZrO.8 Y0.20X (3) have been synthesized by the so lution method and characterized by FT-IR, TGA and the nature of crystall ine products were determined by powder X-ray di ffract ion analysis. Thermogravimeteric analysis proved that all the materials were oxygen defi cient. Surface morphology was characterized by SEM and elemental composition by EDX. The electrical conductivities as a function of the temperature of all the membranes were recorded using the Keithley electrical conductivity meter. All the samples (1), (2) and (3) were found to be single phase with the crystallite size 17nm, 33nm, and 43 nm respectively. Presence of proton defects in all membranes and their electrical non-conducting or insulating behavior make them suitable for their possible technological applications in solid oxide fuel cells.