Surface chemistry discovery points way to cheaper water splitting

Surface chemistry and electric potential are the two driving forces of electrocatalysis. Until now, researchers assumed the latter drove water oxidation – the bottleneck of water splitting – but new work shows otherwise. It has now been discovered that in electrocatalysed water splitting the breaking and forming of bonds at the catalyst’s surface is what actually controls the reaction, an unexpected finding that could accelerate the development of renewable hydrogen generation.¹