Porous AgBr@Ag and AgBrI@Ag plasmonic photocatalysts were synthesized by a multistep route, including a dealloying method to prepare porous Ag, a transformation from Ag to AgBr and AgBrI, and a photo-reduction process to form Ag nanoparticles on the surface of AgBr and AgBrI. It was found that the porous structure kept unchanged during Ag was transferred into AgBr, AgBrI, AgBr@Ag, and AgBrI@Ag. Both porous AgBr@Ag and porous AgBrI@Ag showed much higher visible-light photocatalytic activity than cubic AgBr@Ag for the degradation of methyl orange, which is because the interconnected pore channels not only provide more reactive sites but also favor the transportation of photo-generated electrons and holes. For AgBrI@Ag, AgBrI solid solution formed at the interface of AgBr and AgI, and the phase junction can effectively separate the photo-generated electrons and holes, favorable to the improvement of photocatalytic activity. The optimal I content for obtaining the highest activity is 10 at.%. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.