a multi-functional silica-silica bimodal pore catalyst support was prepared from silica sol and silica gel, which presented two kinds of main pores. compared to the original silica gel, the obtained bimodal support had the enlarged surface area and decreased pore volume. this kind of bimodal pore support was applied firstly in higher alcohols synthesis, where both the copper and iron elements were supported as active sites. the bimodal pore catalyst exhibited favorite catalytic activity and high selectivity of c2+oh, due to the well dispersion of active metal sites and high diffusion efficiency of products inside the bimodal pore structures. crown copyright (c) 2012 published by elsevier b.v. all rights reserved.