Structure activity selectivity relationships for iron based catalysts in CO2 Fischer Tropsch synthesis This study was aimed to evaluate the fundamentals for the purposeful preparation of Fe based catalysts for CO2 conversion to higher hydrocarbons (C2+ hcs) with suppressed methane production. To this end tailored catalyst preparation and sophisticated material characterization by state of the art techniques were combined with spatially resolved steady state and transient kinetic analyses. To determine factors governing catalytic performance the evolution of the microstructure and the phase composition of as prepared iron oxides under CO2 Fischer Tropsch synthesis conditions were established.<eng>