Two mole of  is split into 1 mole  and 2 mole  using light in the process shown below.
A photon with an energy greater than 1.23 eV is needed to generate an electron–hole pairs, which react with water on the surface of the photocatalyst. The photocatalyst must have a bandgap large enough to split water; in practice, losses from material internal resistance and the overpotential of the water splitting reaction increase the required bandgap energy to 1.6–2.4 eV to drive water splitting.
The process of water-splitting is a highly endothermic process (ΔH > 0). Water splitting occurs naturally in photosynthesis when the energy of four photons is absorbed and converted into chemical energy through a complex biochemical pathway (Dolais or Koks S-state diagrams).
O–H bond homolysis in water requires energy of 6.5 - 6.9 eV (UV photon). Infrared light has sufficient energy to mediate water splitting because it technically has enough energy for the net reaction. However, it does not have enough energy to mediate the elementary reactions leading to the various intermediates involved in water splitting (this is why there is still water on Earth). Nature overcomes this challenge by absorbing four visible photons. In the laboratory, this challenge is typically overcome by coupling the hydrogen production reaction with a sacrificial reductant other than water.
Materials used in photocatalytic water splitting fulfill the band requirements and typically have dopants and/or co-catalysts added to optimize their performance. A sample semiconductor with the proper band structure is titanium dioxide () and is typically used with a co-catalyst such as platinum (Pt) to increase the rate of  production. A major problem in photocatalytic water splitting is photocatalyst decomposition and corrosion.