A review of advanced proton-conducting materials for hydrogen separation

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of developments and recent trends in H-2 separation technology that uses dense proton-electron conducting ceramic materials and their associated membranes. Various proton-electron conducting materials and their associated membranes are summarized and classified into several important categories, such as Ni-composite proton-conducting materials, as well as tungstate-based, BaPrO3-based, LaGaO3-based, and niobate/tantalite composite metal oxide-based ceramic materials/membranes. Various membrane designs, including asymmetric ceramic membranes (supported and self-supported) and surface-modified membranes, are also reviewed. Several important properties of ceramic materials and membranes, such as proton and electron conductivity and performance (i.e., H-2 transport flux and lifetime stability), are also discussed. To highlight the technical progress in this area, all possible ceramic materials and associated membranes are summarized, along with their properties and performance, to help readers quickly locate the information they are looking for. Based on this review, several challenges hindering the maturation of this technology are analyzed in depth, and possible research directions for overcoming these challenges are suggested. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.