Enhanced catalyst activity by decorating of Au on Ag@Cu2O nanoshell

We successfully synthesized Au-decorated Ag@Cu₂O heterostructures via a simple galvanic replacement method. As the Au precursor concentration increased, the density of the Au nanoparticles (NPs) on the Ag@Cu₂O surface increased, which changed the catalytic activity of the Ag@Cu₂O-Au structure. The combination of Au, Ag, and Cu₂O exhibited excellent catalytic properties, which can further effect on the catalyst activity of the Ag@Cu₂O-Au structure. In addition, the proposed Ag@Cu₂O-Au nanocomposite was used to transform the organic, toxic pollutant, 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), into its nontoxic and medicinally important amino derivative via a catalytic reduction to optimize the material performance. The proposed Au-decorated Ag@Cu₂O exhibited excellent catalytic activity, and the catalytic reduction time greatly decreased (5 min). Thus, three novel properties of Ag@Cu₂O-Au, i.e., charge redistribution and transfer, adsorption, and catalytic reduction of organic pollutants, were ascertained for water remediation. The proposed catalytic properties have potential applications for photocatalysis and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)- and peroxidase-like catalysis.