Highly dispersed Pt–Co bimetallic catalysts were deposited on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by atomic layer deposition. High-resolution TEM and TPR analyses verified the formation of Pt–Co bimetallic particles. Catalysts were applied for the hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethyfurfural (HMF) to 2,5-dimethyfuran (DMF). A high yield of DMF (>90%) was achieved in the hydrogenolysis of HMF over the optimized Pt–Co/MWCNTs catalyst after 8 h of reaction time under 10 bar H2 at 160 °C. Through a series of experiments and comparison, the synergistic effect among Pt, Co, and MWCNTs was investigated. The results revealed that the synergistic effect between Pt–Co and MWCNTs played an important role in the improvement of selectivity to DMF for Pt–Co/MWCNTs bimetallic catalysts. In addition, steric hindrance appeared when Co loading in Pt–Co/MWCNTs was high and it affected the activity of the Pt–Co bimetallic catalysts. However, moderate activity can inhibit the production of byproducts and thereby improve the yield of DMF.
