Water splitting

'Water splitting is the general term for a chemical reaction in which water is converted into oxygen and hydrogen. Water splitting is actively researched because demand for cheap hydrogen is expected to rise with the new hydrogen economy.

Current water splitting methods include

• steam reforming
• electrolysis
• Water Gas Shift Reaction

Active research

• water splitting by photocatalysis (artificial photosynthesis) ^[1]
• High-temperature electrolysis

references

^[1] Strategies for the Development of Visible-light-driven Photocatalysts for Water Splitting Akihiko Kudo, Hideki Kato1 and Issei Tsuji Chemistry Letters Vol. 33 (2004) , No. 12 p.1534