Herein, Au_xCu alloy nanoparticles (NPs) embedded into TiO₂ nanocavity arrays (NCAs) were synthesized by e-Beam deposition and thermal dewetting. The periodically dispersed Au_xCu NPs displayed strong ultraviolet-visible light absorption through plasmonic resonance, especially after forming an Au_xCu–CuS core–shell heterostructure by sulfurization. When used as a photocatalyst for glycerol oxidation, the Au_xCu–CuS heterostructure showed high conversion efficiency (72%) and superb selectivity (66%) for dihydroxyacetone, even under neutral conditions and without an external heating source. The favorable photothermally enhanced oxidative activity originates from the synergistic core–shell and plasmonic effects in the Au_xCu–CuS@TiO₂ heterostructure. This work suggests a promising strategy for integrating the photothermal effect into the photocatalytic production of valuable organic compounds, therefore boosting solar energy conversion efficiency.

中文翻译：

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Au _x Cu–CuS @ TiO ₂等离子体激元异质结构上的光催化甘油氧化†

本文中，通过电子束沉积和热脱湿合成了嵌入TiO ₂纳米腔阵列（NCA）的Au _x Cu合金纳米颗粒（NPs）。周期性分散的Au _x Cu NPs通过等离子体共振显示出强烈的紫外可见光吸收，尤其是在通过硫化形成Au _x Cu-CuS核-壳异质结构之后。当用作甘油氧化的光催化剂时，Au _xCu–CuS异质结构即使在中性条件下且没有外部热源的情况下，对二羟基丙酮也显示出高转化效率（72％）和极好的选择性（66％）。有利的光热增强氧化活性源自Au _x Cu–CuS @ TiO ₂异质结构中的协同核-壳和等离激元效应。这项工作提出了将光热效应整合到有价值的有机化合物的光催化生产中的有前途的策略，从而提高了太阳能的转换效率。