Methacrylic acid

Methacrylic acid is an unsaturated carboxylic acid with formula CH₂=C(CH₃)COOH. Its reactive double bond enables production of methacrylate polymers and copolymers.

Poly(methyl methacrylate): A transparent thermoplastic polymer made from methyl methacrylate, commonly known as acrylic glass. Methacrylic acid can be esterified to make the monomer used to produce this familiar acrylic plastic.
Free-radical polymerization: A chain-growth reaction in which radicals add repeatedly to carbon–carbon double bonds. Radical addition consumes methacrylic acid's double bond to build polymer chains.
Alkene: A hydrocarbon or functionalized compound containing a carbon–carbon double bond. Methacrylic acid's alkene is the reactive site used in addition polymerization.
Acrylic acid: An unsaturated carboxylic acid with formula CH₂=CHCOOH, used to make acrylate polymers. It lacks methacrylic acid's methyl substituent, which changes polymer properties and reactivity.
Methacrylate: An ester or salt derived from methacrylic acid, or the corresponding polymer repeat unit. Methacrylic acid supplies the core structure of methacrylate monomers and polymers.
Carboxylic acid: An organic compound containing a carboxyl group, –COOH. This functional group gives methacrylic acid its acidity and enables salt and ester formation.
Carboxyl group: The –COOH functional group found in carboxylic acids. It distinguishes methacrylic acid from its ester monomers and governs its acid–base behavior.
Methacrylonitrile: An unsaturated nitrile with formula CH₂=C(CH₃)CN, used as a polymer monomer. It shares methacrylic acid's substituted double-bond framework but has a nitrile instead of a carboxyl group.
Hydroxyethyl methacrylate: A hydrophilic methacrylate monomer used in contact lenses and biomedical materials. It illustrates how methacrylic-acid derivatives can form water-compatible materials.
Esterification: A reaction that forms an ester, commonly by combining a carboxylic acid with an alcohol. Esterifying methacrylic acid produces monomers such as methyl methacrylate.

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