wasserspaltende

Wasserspaltende is a German term used to describe substances, materials, devices, or processes that split water into hydrogen and oxygen. In English, it corresponds to water-splitting or water-splitting capable.

Etymology and usage: The word is formed from Wasser (water) and spalten (to split) with the participial suffix -de, yielding an adjective that characterizes something as enabling or performing water splitting. It is commonly used in technical German to describe catalysts, electrodes, or systems that drive hydrolysis or photoelectrochemical splitting of water.

Scientific context: In electrochemistry and related fields, wasserspaltende materials include catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as well as photoelectrodes in solar-driven water splitting. The term emphasizes the functional capability of producing hydrogen via water decomposition, a topic of interest for renewable energy storage and carbon-emission reduction.

Linguistic note: In German, the more common phrasing is wasser-spaltend or Wasser spalten; in English-language literature, terms like water-splitting catalyst, water-splitting material, or water-splitting device are typically used. Wasserspaltende is primarily encountered in German technical writing.

See also: Wasserstoffproduktion, Elektrolyse, Wasserspaltung, Photoelectrochemische Wasserspaltung, Hydrogen evolution reaction, Oxygen evolution reaction.