The need for alternative energy sources utilizing visible light is growing stronger due to the increasing energy demand. The UV light is widely used in photoelectrocatalysis, however, it is still difficult to use the visible light efficiently to enhance the catalytic activity. Here we design a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) promoted photoelectrocatalyst taking advantage of visible light by tailoring a Au core Pd shell Pt mushroom trimetallic structure nanoparticles to enhance the catalytic activity of the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The Au core is used to provide the SPR effect utilizing visible light to enhance the catalytic activity. The combination of the Pd and Pt provides a synergistic effect to enhance the catalytic activity. The photoelectrocatalytic and photothermal effect generated from SPR is proved and quantitatively calculated. These results provide a novel design of photoelectrocatalyst based on the SPR effect. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.