(297b) Isothermal Water Splitting: A Novel Approach to Efficient H2 Generation Through Solar Thermal Energy

The use of hydrogen as a renewable fuel has been stymied by our inability to produce it cleanly and economically. Solar thermal water splitting (STWS) cycles have long been recognized as a desirable means of generating sustainable H₂ from water and sunlight. Two-step, metal oxide based STWS cycles generate H₂ by a metal oxide undergoing sequential high temperature reduction and water re-oxidation. The temperatures swings between reduction and oxidation steps long thought necessary for STWS has stifled STWS’s overall efficiency and materials robustness due to thermal and time losses during the frequent heating and cooling of the metal oxide. Here, we show that these temperature swings are unnecessary, and that isothermal water splitting (ITWS) exhibits more favorable H₂ production capacity and reaction rates (167.4 µmol H₂/gram and 1.34 µmol H₂/gram/s at 1450 ^oC) than traditional temperature swing water splitting. ITWS opens the door for more simple, robust and efficient renewable H₂ production.  This presentation will summarize the requisite thermodynamics and experimental results for redox water splitting using the ”hercynite cycle” .