LAUSR

Abstract The production of methanol (MeOH) and dimethyl ether (DME) through CO 2 hydrogenation is an attractive route to recycle CO 2 and control its emission to the atmosphere. In the present work, the hydrogenation of CO 2 into MeOH and DME over Al-pillared clays impregnated with different metals (Cu-X/V-AI PILC, where X = Ce and Nb) was investigated in the temperature range 200–300 °C. The influence of additives on the physico-chemical properties of the catalysts was evaluated by N 2 adsorption, ex situ XRD, TPR analysis, and in situ XANES and XRD. The acid sites were analyzed by FTIR analysis after adsorption of pyridine and NH 3 -TPD. The basic and metallic sites were analyzed by CO 2 -TPD and N 2 O-TPD, respectively. In situ XANES was used to investigate the Cu + and CuO species. MeOH and DME selectivities were directly related to the presence of acid, basic and metallic sites and with the reaction temperature. The results indicated that the CuCe/V-Al PILC catalyst was the most promising catalyst for DME synthesis from CO 2 .