Synergistic Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution via Photothermal Effect in NiFeS/Cs0.32WO3

Photothermal-assisted electrocatalysis is an effective approach to enhance the efficiency of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), but the synergistic mechanism between the photothermal effect and the regulation of catalyst electronic structure remains unclear. This work reports the construction of NiFeS/Cs0.32WO3 heterostructures, which integrate interfacial electron transfer and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-induced photothermal effects to enhance OER performance. The Cs0.32WO3 component with hexagonal tungsten bronze structure exhibits strong absorption in the near-infrared region, attributed to LSPR (1100 nm to 2500 nm) and small polaron transition (780 nm to 1100 nm), endowing the NiFeS/Cs0.32WO3 composite with excellent photothermal conversion capability. Under 808 nm laser irradiation, the steady-state surface temperature of the heterostructure reaches 65.1 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy analyses reveal that spontaneous electron transfer from NiFeS to Cs0.32WO3 occurs at the heterostructure interface, thereby optimizing the electronic structure of active sites. Electrochemical measurements demonstrate that at a current density of 50 mA cm−2, the NiFeS/Cs0.32WO3 composite exhibits an overpotential of 301 mV under near-infrared irradiation, representing a reduction of 53 mV compared to NiFeS under dark conditions. At a current density of 50 mA cm−2, the photothermal enhancement effect of the NiFeS/Cs0.32WO3 composite is identified as the predominant contributor to the overall performance improvement. Nevertheless, the intrinsic interfacial effect associated with the heterojunction also plays a crucial role and makes a non-negligible contribution to the enhanced electrocatalytic activity. The Tafel slope decreases from 57.8 mV dec−1 to 44.5 mV dec−1 under near-infrared illumination, indicating accelerated OER kinetics. This work elucidates the mechanism of synergistic enhancement between heterostructure construction and photothermal effects, providing insights for the design of advanced photothermal electrocatalysts.