Oxygen-carrier materials for chemical-looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) must be capable of taking up and releasing gas-phase O-2 at conditions relevant for generation of heat and power. In principle, the capability of a certain material to do so is determined by its thermodynamic properties. This paper provides an overview of the possibility to design feasible oxygen carrier materials from combined oxides, i.e. oxides with crystal structures that include several different cations. Relevant literature is reviewed and the thermodynamic properties and key characteristics of a few selected combined oxide systems are calculated and compared to experimental data. The general challenges and opportunities of the combined oxide concept are discussed. The focus is on materials with manganese as one of its components and the following families of compounds and solid solutions have been considered: (MnyFe1-y)Ox, (MnySi1-y)Ox, caMnO(3-delta), (NiyMn1-y)Ox, MnyCu1-y)Ox and (MnyMg1-y)Ox. In addition to showing promise from a thermodynamic point of view, reactivity data from experimental investigations suggests that the rate of O-2 release can be high for all systems. Thus these combined oxides could also be very suitable for practical application. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.