Photothermal effect act as controllable switch for tunable photocatalytic selective oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural

•The Pt/ZIS/MnO2 (PMZIS) heterojunctions with photothermal effect was constructed.•The PMZIS showed high photocatalytic activity both for HMF oxidation to DFF or FDCA.•The spatial charge separation structure inhibit the charge recombination of PMZIS.•The photothermal effect could adjust the photocatalytic oxidation production of HMF. The selective oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dicarbofuran (DFF), and 2,5-furanedicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is essential to its practical application. Herein, a novel Pt/ZIS/MnO2 (PMZIS) photocatalysts with photothermal effect were well designed for selective and controlled oxidation of HMF toward DFF or FDCA. The product distribution of HMF photo-oxidation on PMZIS can be regulated by the photothermal effect. At a low temperature (10 °C) with PMZIS, DFF is the primary oxidation product with the yield of 54.6% and selectivity of 85.4%. At a high temperature (60–70 °C) induced by photothermal effect, the FDCA can be obtained with the yield of 61.5 % and selectivity of 82.9%. Moreover, the Z-scheme transfer pathway and Pt cocatalysts realize the spatial charge separation structure of PMZIS heterojunctions. This unique structure greatly inhibits charge recombination and maximizes the activation ability of molecular oxygen to efficiently generate of the reactive oxygen species (e.g., 1O2 and O2–), thus significantly improving the photocatalytic performance. This work would provide valuable insight in the product regulation through photothermal effect for the photocatalytic specific selective oxidation of organic molecules.