In this paper, we demonstrate that a silver-carbonate CO2 permeation membrane with the surface of silver matrix modified by a thin coating of Al2O3 can effectively improve the flux stability over an extended period. The CO2 and O-2 flux densities reached 0.39 ml cm(-2) min(-1) and 0.20 ml cm(-2) min(-1) at 650 degrees C, respectively, and maintained >90% of its original values for 130 h. This is in contrast with the untreated membrane in which only one-third of the original values can be retained even after 60 h. Overall, surface modification of silver matrix by a thin layer of Al2O3 coating is demonstrated as a viable method to fabricate stable silver-carbonate membranes for electrochemical CO2 capture from flue gas. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.