Efficient hydro-liquefaction of woody biomass over ionic liquid nickel based catalyst

•The sawdust hydro-liquefaction was conducted over ionic liquid in nickel chloride catalytic system.•The 1-butyl-3-methyllimidazolium bromide and nickel chloride catalytic system showed excellent behavior on sawdust conversion.•The coordination interaction between ionic liquid and nickel chloride favored to sawdust hydro-liquefaction.•The large impact index obtained from ionic liquid Ni-based catalyst was associated with its improved performance.