Photothermally Enhanced Photocatalytic Glycerol Oxidation on AuPt/MnO2‐Mn3O4

Photocatalytic valorization of glycerol to value‐added chemicals under ambient conditions is a promising approach for economically feasible and environmentally friendly biomass utilization. Herein, the successful synthesis of ≈2.6 nm AuPt alloy nanoparticles supported on MnO 2 ‐Mn 3 O 4 heterostructures via in situ transformation of α‐MnO 2 is reported. Selective aerobic photocatalytic glycerol oxidation toward value‐added C3 products has been achieved with AM 1.5G light irradiation under ambient conditions on these as synthesized 1 wt% AuPt/MnO 2 ‐Mn 3 O 4 , which displays 2.3 and 6.5 times enhancement compared to that of AuPt/Mn 3 O 4 and AuPt/MnO 2 . A 74% overall C3 product selectivity (60% in terms of glyceric acid) has been achieved at 75% glycerol conversion after 4 h of photocatalytic reaction. Investigation results reveal that the formation of MnO 2 ‐Mn 3 O 4 heterostructures combines the local photothermal heating (primarily on MnO 2 ) synergistically with the photochemical catalysis (on Mn 3 O 4 ), thus achieving enhanced photocatalytic glycerol oxidation. This study may provide guidance for future catalyst design, where photon‐driven photocatalysis with phonon‐driven photothermal effect can be seamlessly integrated to achieve maximal solar energy utilization and high photocatalytic efficiency.