The selective hydrogenation of biomass-derived 2(5H)-furanone to gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) was studied over Pt-Ni and Pt-Co bimetallic model surfaces and supported catalysts. The reactions of 2(5H)-furanone were investigated on Ni/Pt(111) and Co/Pt(111) bimetallic surfaces using temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), revealing that the Ni-terminated bimetallic Ni-Pt-Pt(111) surface was more active and selective to produce GBL. Parallel density functional theory (DFT) calculations also confirmed the higher hydrogenation activity on Ni-Pt-Pt(111) due to bimetallic effect. The promising results on model surfaces were extended to SiO2-supported catalysts. The hydrogenation activity in terms of the initial turnover frequency (TOF) followed the trend of Pt-Ni > Pt-Co > Pt > Ni > Co, where the TOF over Pt-Ni was almost twice higher than that over Pt. With the excellent correlation between model surfaces and supported catalysts, the Pt-Ni bimetallic catalyst was identified as a promising option for the selective hydrogenation of 2(5H)-furanone to GBL. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.