<ul><li>Scientists at Northwestern University have discovered why the process of splitting water to form oxygen during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) takes more energy than predicted by theory.</li><li>Water molecules on the surface of an electrode flip just before they give up electrons, resulting in inefficient water splitting.</li><li>The researchers have identified that controlling the orientation of water at the electrode-water interface could improve the efficiency of the OER.</li><li>The findings could have implications for multiple energy-related technologies beyond water splitting, such as the hydrogen evolution reaction and CO2 reduction to liquid fuels.</li></ul>

Splitting water takes more energy than theory predicts – and now scientists know why

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