Induction heating boosts water splitting on iron–coated nickel foam

Abstract Alkaline water electrolysis at high temperatures can rival acidic proton–exchange membranes. However, they suffer from increased energy consumption, reduced lifespan of materials and heightened safety risks. Magnetic hyperthermia is a method of localizing intense heating in the presence of an external high–frequency alternating magnetic field (AMF). In this study, we developed a custom electromagnetic induction device capable of generating a small magnetic field of about 2 µ T. High–permeability nickel foam is used as electrodes. Results show that the iron coated nickel foam decreases the overpotential of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction by ∼150 mV and 60 mV, respectively, at 20 mAcm −2 when subjected to magnetic heating in a high–frequency AMF. The overall water splitting current of Ni foam/Fe increases 540% under intermittent induction. The enhanced stability of Ni foam/Fe is attributed to the high binding energy of metal–O on the surface. The density function theory calculations further indicates that the lattice expansion of the metal electrode under induction heating optimizes the adsorption and desorption of H*, thereby enhancing the HER performance.