Oregon researchers shed new light on solar water-splitting process (University of Oregon)

(Source: University of Oregon) Oregon researchers shed new light on solar water-splitting process EUGENE, Ore. - (Dec. 2, 2013) - With the help of a new method called "dual-electrode photoelectrochemistry," University of Oregon scientists have provided new insight into how solar water-splitting cells work. An important and overlooked parameter, they report, is the ion-permeability of electrocatalysts used in water-splitting devices. Their discovery could help replace a trial-and-error approach to paring electrocatalysts with semiconductors with an efficient method for using sunlight to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water to generate renewable energy, says , professor of...