Plasmonic Au/CdMoO4 photocatalyst: Influence of surface plasmon resonance for selective photocatalytic oxidation of benzylic alcohol

Novel visible-light-driven plasmonic Au/CdMoO4 photocatalysts were synthesized by hydrothermal process following chemical reduction process. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show the catalysts exhibited strong visible light absorption due to the surface plasmon resonance effect of Au nanoparticles. Compared to CdMoO4, Au/CdMoO4 composites displayed superior photocatalytic activities for the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohol to benzaldehyde under visible light. The highest conversion was obtain by the 1.6% Au loaded CdMoO4. The mechanism for the selective oxidation of benzylic alcohol in the Au/CdMoO4 system is proposed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.