• • The ternary CeO2-AuNR-Cu2O Janus structure achieves a methylene blue (MB) degradation rate of 98.7% within 60 minutes under visible light irradiation, significantly outperforming binary counterparts (e.g., CeO2-AuNR: 72.3%, AuNR-Cu2O: 65.8%). This >95% degradation threshold is critical for industrial wastewater treatment, where residual dye concentrations must meet discharge limits (<1 ppm).
• • Dual Schottky junctions at CeO2-AuNR and AuNR-Cu2O interfaces increase charge separation efficiency by 3.2-fold compared to single-junction systems, as evidenced by a 2.8-fold enhancement in photocurrent density (from 0.45 mA/cm2 to 1.26 mA/cm2 at 0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl). This directly reduces electron-hole recombination losses, a key bottleneck in photocatalytic reactors.
• • The LSPR effect of AuNR extends light absorption to the near-infrared region (up to 900 nm), enabling a 42% increase in solar energy utilization compared to UV-only active catalysts. This broadens operational applicability under natural sunlight, reducing reliance on artificial UV sources and lowering energy costs by an estimated 30% in scaled systems.
• • The Z-scheme electron transfer pathway, confirmed by radical trapping experiments (•OH and •O2- as dominant species), yields a 5.6-fold higher quantum efficiency (at 420 nm) than the reference CeO2-Cu2O P-N junction without AuNR. This mechanistic insight allows for predictive design of multi-component photocatalysts with tailored redox potentials.