Au/TiO nanobelts: thermal enhancement plasmon enhancement for visible-light-driven photocatalytic selective oxidation of amines into imines

Thermo-enhanced photocatalysis has been reported as a potential strategy for improving the activity, whereas the relationship between thermal energy and the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of noble metal nanoparticles has been rarely investigated. Herein, photocatalytic selective aerobic oxidation of amines to imines is investigated under visible light irradiation over heterostructured TiO 2 (B)/anatase and Au/TiO 2 nanobelts at specific temperatures (20-60 °C). The surface amine substrate complexed on TiO 2 could broaden the visible-light absorption region via the ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) effect. Interestingly, the pristine TiO 2 achieves the best photocatalytic performance (>99% benzylamine conversion and >99% N -benzylidenebenzylamine selectivity) at 60 °C after 12 h irradiation while the Au nanoparticles (NPs) are observed to improve the activity of TiO 2 only in a low temperature range (