The effect of preparation method of the Cu–La2O3–ZrO2/γ-Al2O3 hybrid catalysts on one-step synthesis of dimethyl ether from syngas

•Cu–La2O3–ZrO2/γ-Al2O3 hybrid catalysts were prepared by four different methods.•Smaller particle size and highly dispersed Cu species are favorable for STD process.•The acidic site with medium strength is active phase for methanol dehydration.•The catalyst prepared by mixing both fresh precursors showed better STD performance.

Cu–La2O3–ZrO2/γ-Al2O3 hybrid catalysts were prepared by four different preparation methods. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption and desorption, N2O adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR), temperature programmed desorption (NH3–TPD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), followed by the evaluation for the one-step synthesis of dimethyl ether from syngas. The hybrid catalyst prepared by mixing freshly obtained precursors of both components possessed the highest CO conversion (73%) and DME yield (58%). It was revealed that the superior catalytic performance was not only ascribed to the amount of highly dispersed copper species with smaller particle size, which was benefit for the CO adsorption linearly, but also to the amount of acidic sites with medium strength.