Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of glucose and xylose using carbon fiber supported Au nanocatalysts

•Different AuNPs size distribution among CF/AuNPs catalysts resulting from different pre-treatment methods of the CF support (chemical and thermal pre-treatment) prior to Au deposition.•Higher reaction rates of glucose and xylose toward ECH over a CF/AuNPs catalyst than polycrystalline Au.•Variation of ECSA-normalized ECH activity and Faradaic Efficiency (FE) of CF/AuNPs catalysts depending on the catalyst Au cluster size.