Some numbers to ponder, Jones.
It takes less than 2.5 eV to electrolyze water as opposed to the 498 kJ/mole
(5.17 eV) H-OH bond energy.
OTOH, the Ag-O bond energy is 2.38 eV and the Ag-H bond energy
is 2.23 eV.
It has been experimentally verified that water dissociates to
adsorbed H and OH on bulk silver, and that AgOx decomposes
to Ag + Ox at 230 C (500 K or 446 F).
From H2O + O ----> 2 OH on silver (the HO-OH bond energy is 2.2 eV)
the energy required to remove the 2 OH molecules as a gas should be
less than that required to decompose AgOx.
Recombination of 2 OH to form HOOH is 2.2 eV per bond (213 kJ/mole)
is lost energy as is recombination of 2 OH ----> H2O + O (nascent oxygen).
Since there are plenty of free electrons in metals, O2, H, and OH species adsorbed on
the surface can be attracted with a strength related to the
Electron Affinity : O2 (0.451 eV) O (1.46 eV) H (0.754 eV) and OH (1.828 eV).
IOW, You Can Split it For Free, But, Can You Git It for Free? :-)
Fred
