Effect of Cu-doping on the structure and performance of molybdenum carbide catalyst for low-temperature hydrogenation of dimethyl oxalate to ethanol

•Cu-doped Mo2C catalyst is synthesized by a solid-state pyrolysis method.•Cu species are incorporated into Mo2C lattice.•Cu tunes the morphologies and intrinsic properties of carbides.•Synergistic effect between Cu and Mo2C is observed in DMO hydrogenation.•Cu–Mo2C can retain the excellent activity for longer than 300h.