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Introduction to the Water Splitting Reaction

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Testing Novel Water Oxidation Catalysts for Solar Fuels Production

Part of the book series: PoliTO Springer Series ((PTSS))

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Abstract

This chapter will cover the most important aspects concerning the water splitting reaction by providing an overall description of the main solutions, as reported in the literature, addressing the improvement of the efficiency of solar driven hydrogen production. The natural water splitting system will be considered as a starting point, in order to gain a better understanding of the main challenges that material scientists are facing towards the development of novel catalysts of water oxidation, mainly. The attention will focus on the water oxidation half-reaction, since it is the most complex and demanding process from both the kinetic and thermodynamic points of view. In addition, some general aspects of the photocatalytic water splitting and the principal semiconductors studied for such process will be reviewed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biochemical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile

    Carminna Ottone

  2. Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Simelys Hernández

  3. Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Marco Armandi

  4. Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Barbara Bonelli

Authors
  1. Carminna Ottone
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  2. Simelys Hernández
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  3. Marco Armandi
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  4. Barbara Bonelli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carminna Ottone .

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Ottone, C., Hernández, S., Armandi, M., Bonelli, B. (2019). Introduction to the Water Splitting Reaction. In: Testing Novel Water Oxidation Catalysts for Solar Fuels Production. PoliTO Springer Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12712-1_1

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