Acrylic Ester Polymers

Robert V. Slone

Robert V. Slone

The Dow Chemical Company

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First published: 26 April 2010
Citations: 5

Abstract

The usage of acrylic esters as building blocks for polymers of industrial importance began in earnest with the research of Otto Röhm. The first recorded preparation of the basic building block for acrylic ester polymers, acrylic acid, took place in 1843; this synthesis relied on the air oxidation of acrolein. The first acrylic acid derivatives to be made were methyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate. Although these two monomers were synthesized in 1873, their utility in the polymer area was not discovered until 1880 when Kahlbaum polymerized methyl acrylate and tested its thermal stability. To his surprise, the polymerized methyl acrylate did not depolymerize at temperatures up to 320°C. Despite this finding of incredibly high thermal stability, the industrial production of acrylic ester polymers was not realized for almost another 50 years.

The commercial discovery of acrylic ester polymers took place while Otto Röhm was conducting his doctoral research in 1901. Röhm obtained a U.S. patent in 1912 covering the vulcanization of acrylates with sulfur. Commercial production of acrylic ester polymers by the Rohm and Haas Co. of Darmstadt, Germany, commenced in 1927.

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