Plasma-driven catalytic oxidation of ethylene glycol on self-standing nanoflower-like PdAuCu nanosheets

Coupling the unique localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of plasma metals with electrocatalysis has been proven an effective strategy to enhance the oxidation efficiency of alcohols. Herein, self-standing tri-metallic PdAuCu nanoflowers (NFs) with three-dimensional structure were successfully prepared by a simple one-pot method and used in the catalytic oxidation reaction of ethylene glycol (EGOR). The ultra-thin nanosheets structure of PdAuCu NFs endow it a large number of active sites and chemical stability. Notably, the PdAuCu NFs display the highest catalytic activity (10.26 A mg(pd)(-1)) to EGOR under visible light irradiation, which is 1.49 times higher than that under dark, as well as much higher than that of PdAu and pure Pd catalyst. Meanwhile, PdAuCu NFs also show excellent anti-poisoning ability. The related plasma-driven electrocatalysis mechanism proposes that the enhancement of EGOR is ascribed to the introduction of Au and Cu plasma metals, which modifies the electronic structure of Pd and enhances the transfer rate of electrons under visible light irradiation. Meanwhile, the addition of Cu can increase the d-sp inter-band transition rate and improve the light absorption coefficient of Au, thus further enhancing the LSPR.