Water splitting—breaking water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen—is a promising pathway to sustainable energy. However, this process has long been challenged by the slow chemical kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction that make hydrogen production inefficient and costly.
An international research team has now uncovered a solution. By using special crystals with unique intrinsic “chiral” structures—meaning they have a distinctive left or right-handed atomic arrangement—researchers have dramatically improved the water splitting process.
The findings are published in the journal Nature Energy.
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