Magnetic field enhancing electrocatalysis of Co3O4/NF for oxygen evolution reaction

In water splitting, the performance of transition metal oxides catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction still needs further promotion. Toward this issue, a novel magnetic field-inducement strategy is applied to improve the electrocatalysis of Co3O4/NF. The effects of magnetic field strength and direction on electrocatalysis are investigated in detail. The results exhibit that the applied magnetic field can effectively decrease the over potential and Tafel slope of Co3O4/NF for oxygen evolution reaction. When a 125 mT magnetic field is perpendicular to the electric field, Co3O4/NF just shows an overpotential of 252 mV at the current density of 20 mA cm(-2) and gives a low Tafel slope of 26.7 mV.dec(-1), presenting much better catalytic properties than that in normal condition. The obvious enhancement could arise from the magnetohydrodynamic effect near the electrode and the enhanced energy states of electrons induced by the magnetic field. Hence, this work introduces a practical way to improve the performance of catalysts efficiently without farther structural modification, morphological controlling and material cladding.