Real-time oxygen measurements expose hidden losses in solar water splitting

Researchers at Imperial College London developed a technique that measures oxygen production in real time during solar water splitting. They found that electrical current did not always correspond to oxygen generation in hematite, a widely studied material, revealing a previously unknown limitation.

• Technique tracks oxygen output in real time during photocatalysis
• In hematite, current did not always match oxygen generation
• A previously unknown limitation in the reaction was found