a b s t r a c tThe different mechanisms of CO 2 methanation on Ni(111) surfaces have been investigated by density functional theory with and without the formation of CO as an intermediate. The most stable adsorption configurations of all reaction species (O, OH, CO, CH, CH 2 , CH 3 , CH 4 , HCOO, C(OH) 2 , CH 2 O, etc.) in three paths of CO 2 methanation adsorbed on the Ni(111) surface are described. The energy barriers and reaction energies for the overall processes involved in the various paths are presented. The rate-determining steps for the three mechanisms are HCOO→CO + OH for path 1, CO → C + O for path 2 and CO 2 + 2H → C(OH) 2 for path 3 with maximum energy barriers of 306.8 kJ/mol, 237.4 kJ/mol and 292.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Path 2 is therefore the optimum of the three mechanisms. The path starts with CO 2 dissociation into CO and O, CO decomposition into C and O species and C species hydrogenation to form CH 4 : CO 2 → CO + O → C + O + 4H → CH 2 + 2H → CH 3 + H → CH 4 .