CO2 hydrogenation on CeO2@Cu catalyst synthesized via a solution auto-combustion method

•CeO2@Cu catalysts were prepared with cerium salt via a solution auto-combustion method.•CeO2@Cu-A exhibited best CO production rate 1.64 mol/gcat.h at 400 °C.•CO2 hydrogenation performance was enhanced by oxygen vacancy on CeO2@Cu catalyst.•CuOx unreduced on CeO2@Cu-C limited CO2 conversion and increased CH4 selectivity.