The hydrogenolysis of 5-methylfurfuryl alcohol to 2,5-dimethylfuran was investigated over CuCrO2 center dot CuO, CuFe2O4 center dot CuO, and CuMn2O4 center dot CuO catalysts. The synthesized catalytic materials were extensively characterized. The Cu-0 surface area of the catalysts varied from 0.3 to 20.4 m(2)/g. CuCrO2 center dot CuO demonstrated higher activity relative to surface Cu-0 than any of the other synthesized materials and had the same activity as a commercially available copper chromite catalyst. The Cu-Fe catalysts showed lower activities with coinciding lower selectivities when compared to the Cu-Cr catalysts. This behavior of the Cu-Fe catalyst may have been caused by the presence of Fe-0. The CuMn2O4 center dot CuO catalysts gave a similar selectivity to the Cu-Cr catalysts, but showed a dramatically lower activity than either the Cu-Cr or Cu-Fe catalysts with respect to Cu-0 surface area. While the CuCrO2 center dot CuO, CuCr2O4 center dot CuO, and most active CuFe2O4 center dot CuO catalyst all exhibited very comparable activity relative to Cu-0 surface concentrations, the other catalysts became markedly less active. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.