Research in photocatalysis again paused until 1964, when V.N. Filimonov investigated isopropanol photooxidation from ZnO and  ; while in 1965 Kato and Mashio, Doerffler and Hauffe, and Ikekawa et al. (1965) explored oxidation/photooxidation of  and organic solvents from ZnO radiance. In 1970, Formenti et al. and Tanaka and Blyholde observed the oxidation of various alkenes and the photocatalytic decay of NO, respectively.
A breakthrough occurred in 1972, when Akira Fujishima and Kenichi Honda discovered that electrochemical photolysis of water occurred when a  electrode irradiated with ultraviolet light was electrically connected to a platinum electrode. As the ultraviolet light was absorbed by the  electrode, electrons flowed from the anode to the platinum cathode where hydrogen gas was produced. This was one of the first instances of hydrogen production from a clean and cost-effective source, as the majority of hydrogen production comes from natural gas reforming and gasification. Fujishimas and Hondas findings led to other advances. In 1977, Nozik discovered that the incorporation of a noble metal in the electrochemical photolysis process, such as platinum and gold, among others, could increase photoactivity, and that an external potential was not required. Wagner and Somorjai (1980) and Sakata and Kawai (1981) delineated hydrogen production on the surface of strontium titanate (SrTiO) via photogeneration, and the generation of hydrogen and methane from the illumination of  and PtO in ethanol, respectively.
For many decades photocatalysis had not been developed for commercial purposes. However, in 2023 multiple patents were granted to a U.S. company, (Pure-Light Technologies, Inc.) that has developed various formulas and processes that allow for widespread commercialization for VOC reduction and germicidal action.  Chu et al. (2017) assessed the future of electrochemical photolysis of water, discussing its major challenge of developing a cost-effective, energy-efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) tandem cell, which would, “mimic natural photosynthesis".