Facile interfacial synthesis of thin AuPd alloy nanowires for plasmon-enhanced selective photocatalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol

Bimetallic AuPd plasmonic photocatalyst is a promising candidate for catalyzing selective oxidation of aromatic alcohol. However, developing a simple one-step method for the preparation of free-standing AuPd nanostructures with excellent photocatalytic performance remains a huge challenge. Here, a facile liquid–liquid interface route was exploited to one-pot prepare free-standing AuPd alloy nanowires (NWs) under mild conditions. Specifically, Au 1 Pd 1 NWs are grown via oriented attachment at chloroform-water interface and 40 °C with Na 2 PdCl 4 and HAuCl 4 as precursors and 1-naphthol as reductant. Au 1 Pd 1 NWs possess many advantages, such as thin diameter (4.0 nm), large aspect ratio, abundant defects and strong Au-Pd electronic interaction. During benzyl alcohol oxidation to benzaldehyde, Au 1 Pd 1 NWs exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity and durability. At 40 min of visible light illumination, 98 % conversion of benzyl alcohol and 100 % selectivity to benzaldehyde are finished. After five cycles, Au 1 Pd 1 NWs still maintain high photocatalytic activity. Compared to pure Au NWs, alloying Pd with Au in Au 1 Pd 1 NWs dramatically enhances photocatalytic activity. The results indicate that the generated abundant •O 2 – under illumination play an important role in significantly improving benzyl alcohol oxidation to benzaldehyde.