Perovskite-type oxide has been considered to be an effective oxygen carrier for producing oxygen-enriched gas stream for oxy-fuel combustion application. However, the main problem with those researched perovskite-type oxides as oxygen carriers is their relatively low oxygen production amount. This has limited oxygen concentration and the productivity of the separation process. This paper reports on characteristics and oxygen production performance of improved perovskite materials of Ba-Sr-Co-Fe oxides synthesized by a new microwave-assisted EDTA method (MWA-EDTA). The effect of microwave operating times on the oxygen production properties of perovskite-type Ba1-xSrxCo0.8Fe0.2O3-delta (x = 0, 0.5, I) as well as the cyclic performance of improved BaCo0.8Fe0.2O3-delta (BCF) powders are investigated in details. All obtained samples are characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), specific surface area measurements (BET) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). The results indicate that the samples with smaller crystallite size and higher porosity obtained by the MWA-EDTA showed better oxygen production properties than those prepared by conventional EDTA method. And the optimal microwave irradiation time for BCF is 30 min operating times. Furthermore, cyclic tests show that BCF synthesized by the optimal conditions has excellent reactivity and regeneration capacity after 21 cycles. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.