Fig. 1: HMF oxidation over plasmonic TiN–RuPt photocatalysts and their characterization.

a, Schematics showing the process to obtain HMF from biomass and its two oxidation pathways to FDCA in the presence of O2. TiN–RuPt nanocubes use NIR light, generating plasmonic hot carriers and heating to selectively steer product formation using path 1. FDCA is a versatile molecular platform for the synthesis of biopolymers, solvents and fine chemicals. b, Energy-dispersive spectroscopy elemental map highlighting the atomic distribution of ruthenium and platinum in a representative single TiN–RuPt nanocube. c,d, DRIFT spectra of CO adsorbed on the different photocatalysts after a pretreatment in H2 at 200 °C (c) and after a two-step procedure consisting of H2 at 200 °C and interaction with O2 at room temperature (d).