A green route to methyl acrylate and acrylic acid by an aldol condensation reaction over H-ZSM-35 zeolite catalystsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c7cc04574c

A one-step aldol condensation reaction to produce MA and AA is a green and promising strategy. Here, the aldol condensation reaction was first conducted with DMM and MAc over different types of zeolite catalysts. The H-ZSM-35 zeolite demonstrates excellent catalytic performance with a DMM conversion of 100% and a MA + AA selectivity of up to 86.2% and superior regeneration ability, with great potential for industrial operation. An aldol condensation reaction was first conducted with DMM and MAc over zeolite catalysts to produce MA and AA.