• A super-hydrophilic electrode was developed by depositing porous NiFe nanoparticles onto annealed TiO2 nanotubes (NiFe/ATNT), facilitating rapid outgassing of nonpolar gases.
• The NiFe/ATNT electrode exhibited an overpotential of 235 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for the oxygen evolution reaction in 1.0 M KOH and served as the anode in the AEMWE, achieving a current density of 1.67 A cm−2 at 1.80 V.
• The AEMWE utilizing the NiFe/ATNT electrode demonstrated remarkable stability, maintaining operation for 1500 h at 0.50 A cm−2 under challenging thermal conditions of 80 ± 3 °C.
• The study highlights the importance of electrode surface engineering for efficient gas bubble removal, which is critical for long-term performance of AEMWEs.