Dimethyl ether (DME) has been considered as a potential hydrogen carrier used in fuel cells; it can also be consumed as a diesel substitute or chemicals. To develop the technique of DME synthesis, a bifunctional Cu-ZnO-Al2O3/ZSM5 catalyst is prepared using a coprecipitation method. The reaction characteristics of DME synthesis from syngas at a high space velocity of 15,000 mL (g(cat) h)(-1) are investigated and the effects of reaction temperature, pressure, CO2 concentration and ZSM5 amount on the synthesis are taken into account. The results suggest that an increase in CO2 concentration in the feed gas substantially decreases the DME formation. The optimum reaction temperature always occurs at 225 degrees C, regardless of what the pressure is. It is thus recognized that the DME synthesis is governed by two different mechanisms when the reaction temperature varies. At lower reaction temperatures (<225 degrees C) the reaction is dominated by chemical kinetics, whereas thermodynamic equilibrium is the dominant mechanism as the reaction temperature is higher (>225 degrees C). For the CO2 content of 5 vol.% and the pressure of 40 atm, the maximum DME yield is 1.89 g (g(cat) h)(-1). It is also found that 0.2 g of ZSM5 is sufficient to be blended with 1 g of the catalyst for DME synthesis. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.