Oxygen Storage Capability of Brownmillerite-type Ca2AlMnO5+δ and Its Application to Oxygen Enrichment

The oxygen storage capability was investigated for Ca-2(AlxMn1-x)(2)O5+delta (0.50 <= x <= 0.67) with a Brownmillerite-type structure. This oxide can store/release a large amount of excess oxygen (similar to 3.0 wt %) topotactically in response to variations in temperature and the surrounding atmosphere in a highly reversible manner. The capacity and response of oxygen storage are remarkable only in the vicinity of x = 0.50, that is, Ca2AlMnO5+delta, and rapidly deteriorated as the Al content increases. Owing to the high sensitivity in terms of oxygen nonstoichiometry, Ca2AlMnO5+delta exhibits oxygen intake/release ability when temperature swing between 500 and 700 degrees C is applied. With this characteristic feature of this oxide, a facile method for oxygen enrichment is demonstrated.