Abstract: To provide an oxygen and hydrogen production technology that is novel, convenient, and environmentally suitable, and decomposes water at a high rate. Based on the finding that an aromatic amine polymer acts as an oxidation catalyst that generates oxygen from water and a polyarylenevinylene acts as a reduction catalyst that generates hydrogen from water, oxygen and hydrogen are generated at a high rate by applying a slight overpotential relative to an equilibrium potential because these catalysts operate at a very low overpotential. Further, irradiation of the water-oxidation?oxygen-generation catalyst with light including solar light increases a production rate of oxygen and hydrogen. The aromatic amine polymer and the polyarylenevinylene are both aromatic polymers, are low cost, and have considerably high durability in water over a wide pH range and in addition, they may have hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, interface area, and shape suited for electrode catalysts.

Abstract: Irradiating a film of a thiophene polymer that is a pure organic compound with light allows the thiophene polymer film to act as a light absorber and catalyst that produces hydrogen peroxide from water and water-dissolved air (oxygen) at extremely high efficiency, and this film can work in alkaline water in which a film of a general-purpose inexpensive water-oxidizing catalyst, which is used as a counter electrode, is active. Provided is an environmentally compatible and simple method for producing hydrogen peroxide at extremely high efficiency, including combining a film of a catalyst for light absorption and oxygen reduction that consists of a thiophene polymer with a catalyst for water oxidation, immersing the combination in alkaline water, and irradiating the light-absorbing oxygen reduction catalyst film with light.