The cleavage of the C-O-C bond was studied under oxidizing conditions on nanostructured membrane supported cobalt-based catalysts using a cellulose model surrogate, 1-methoxy-2-methyl-2-propanol. The cobalt catalysts were found to break the C-O-C bond, producing alcohols and/or ketones by further oxidation. The size-selected sub-nanometer size cobalt clusters exhibited a per metal activity of up to 5 orders of magnitude higher than the with atomic layer deposition uniformly coated membranes. The large difference in activity is attributed to the high fraction of the surface atoms of the subnanometer clusters. The positioning of the clusters at the entrance vs. exit of the catalytic membrane allows for a control of the contact time and consequently of the selectivity of the catalyst. Published by Elsevier B.V.