There are two main categories of synthesis methods used for semiconducting oxide photoanodes. The first category corresponds to "model" samples, continuous and homogenous, allowing control and hence study of each photoanode parameter individually (e.g. crystalline structure, thickness, chemical stoichiometry, doping level, etc.). Atomic oxygen assisted molecular beam epitaxy (AO-MBE) , magnetron sputtering , pulsed layer deposition , and atomic layer deposition , are among the synthesis methods used to make "model" samples. The second category targets fabrication of nanostructured / self-assembled architectures (such as nano-wires or nano-rods, column-like porous architectures, core-shell structures, etc.) where the layers are heterogeneous in terms of morphology, crystallography, and electronic, or chemical structure. For that type of samples, one can use spin-coating , aqueous chemical growth (ACG) , hydrothermal electrochemical deposition , sol-gel . These methods are more versatile in terms of ease of setup and variability of growth parameters allowing the deposition of high-quality oxide nanostructures, uniformly grown on larger surfaces, characteristics which are more pertinent for technological implementation in future SWS applications.