In situ construction of hierarchical Ag-decorated Cu nanowire arrays as an efficient and durable electrocatalyst for hydrogenation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and furfural

•Hierarchical nano-structured Ag@Cu NWAs/CF electrocatalyst was fabricated by an in-situ growth strategy.•Self-prepared electrocatalyst displayed a large electrochemically active surface area and low charge transfer resistance.•High selectivity and faradaic efficiency for electrocatalytic hydrogenation of HMF to BHMF and FUR to FAL were achieved.•The electrocatalyst demonstrated the excellent durability after six electrolysis cycles.