Novel oxygen permeable hollow fiber perovskite membrane with surface wrinkles

Oxygen permeable ceramic hollow fiber perovskite membranes could be applied as the micro-membrane reactors for high temperature oxidations to integrate air separation and reaction in same unit. Membrane reactors normally require the loading of extra catalyst. However, how to anchor the catalysts in these hollow fiber structured reactors along the surface is a big issue. In this work, the synthesis and properties of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) hollow fiber perovskite membranes with wrinkled surface was reported. This article demonstrates its applicability for oxygen separation from air, before and after Ag deposition as the catalyst in the wrinkles of the hollow fibers. The wrinkled membranes display the oxygen permeation flux of 0.62 (prior to Ag deposition) and 1.48 (after Ag loading) mL·min−1·cm−2 operated at 950 °C, which is 1.2 and 3.0 times the permeation flux of membranes without wrinkles, respectively. This research contributes a novel inorganic hollow fiber membrane with wrinkled surfaces as the catalyst bed for industrial applications.