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[Display omitted] • Rod-shaped CeO 2 supported AuPd alloy structure was facilely synthesized. • Au 1 Pd 1 /CeO 2 showed remarkable increase in hydrogenolysis activity of aryl C O bond. • The strength of aryl C–O ether bond of lignin is decreased as 4-O-5 > β-O-4 ≥ α-O-4. • Au 1 Pd 1 /CeO 2 obtained 44.1% yield of monophenols in hydrogenolysis of real lignin. The mild depolymerization of lignin into aromatic monomer is a grand challenge owing to the various aryl ether C–O bonds, particularly for the most abundant β-O-4, α-O-4 and 4-O-5 linkages. Rod-shaped CeO 2 supported AuPd bimetallic catalysts fabricated by sol-immobilization method presented robust alloy structure, as evidenced by TEM, XPS, UV–vis, and CO-DRIFTS. For the hydrogenolysis of C O bond model compound with formic acid, Au 1 Pd 1 /CeO 2 showed about 23.5 and 6 folds increase in activity compared with its monometallic counterparts Au/CeO 2 and Pd/CeO 2 , respectively. The outstanding performance was mainly ascribed to the increased adsorption ability of electron-deficient Pd for aromatic C–O bond. Additionally, formic acid-mediated Au 1 Pd 1 /CeO 2 has efficiently performed hydrogenolysis of real lignin into a variety of valuable monophenols, achieving 44.1% yield at low temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]