Efficient low-temperature selective hydrogenation of esters on bimetallic Au-Ag/SBA-15 catalyst

► Au incorporated with Ag results in the formation of smaller Au-Ag nanoparticle size. ► Au-Ag/SBA-15 displays excellent activity for selective reduction in ester groups. ► The reduction activity depends on the contents of Au and Ag. ► Negligible catalyst deactivation for DMO hydrogenation occurs for 200 h on stream. ► Strong interactions between Au and Ag account for the high catalytic performance.