Time evolution of catalytic CO2 hydrogenation to methanol and dimethyl ether (DME) has been investigated in a high-temperature high-pressure reaction chamber where products accumulate over time. The employed catalysts are based on a nano-assembly composed of Cu nanoparticles infiltrated into a Zr doped SiOx mesoporous framework (SBA-15): Cu-Zr-SBA-15. The CO2 conversion was recorded as a function of time by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the molecular activity on the catalyst's surface was examined by diffuse reflectance in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS). The experimental results showed that after 14 days a CO2 conversion of 25% to methanol and DME was reached when a DME selective catalyst was used which was also illustrated by thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. With higher Zr content in the catalyst, greater selectivity for methanol and a total 9.5% conversion to methanol and DME was observed, yielding also CO as an additional product. The time evolution profiles indicated that DME is formed directly from methoxy groups in this reaction system. Both DME and methanol selective systems show the thermodynamically highest possible conversion. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.