
Non-modified PMMA behaves in a brittle manner when under load, especially under an impact force, and is more prone to scratching than conventional inorganic glass, but modified PMMA is sometimes able to achieve high scratch and impact resistance. It is often preferred because of its moderate properties, easy handling and processing, and low cost.

Additionally, PMMA does not contain the potentially harmful bisphenol-A subunits found in polycarbonate and is a far better choice for laser cutting. PMMA is an economical alternative to polycarbonate (PC) when tensile strength, flexural strength, transparency, polishability, and UV tolerance are more important than impact strength, chemical resistance, and heat resistance. Notable trade names and brands include Acrylite, Lucite, PerClax, R-Cast, Plexiglas, Optix, Perspex, Oroglas, Altuglas, Cyrolite, Astariglas, Cho Chen, Sumipex, and Crystallite. (It is a common mistake to use "an" instead of "en".)Īlthough PMMA is often called simply "acrylic", acrylic can also refer to other polymers or copolymers containing polyacrylonitrile.
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The full IUPAC chemical name is poly(methyl 2-methylprop enoate). Names Ĭommon orthographic stylings include polymethyl methacrylate and polymethylmethacrylate. Civilian applications followed after the war. Aeroplane pilots whose eyes were damaged by flying shards of PMMA fared much better than those injured by standard glass, demonstrating better compatibility between human tissue and PMMA than glass. During World War II both Allied and Axis forces used acrylic glass for submarine periscopes and aircraft windscreen, canopies, and gun turrets. In 1936 ICI Acrylics (now Lucite International) began the first commercially viable production of acrylic safety glass. du Pont de Nemours & Company (now DuPont Company) subsequently introduced its own product under the trademark Lucite.

Both Perspex and Plexiglas were commercialized in the late 1930s. The polymer separated from the glass as a clear plastic sheet, which Röhm gave the trademarked name Plexiglas in 1933. About the same time, chemist and industrialist Otto Röhm of Röhm and Haas AG in Germany attempted to produce safety glass by polymerizing methyl methacrylate between two layers of glass. ICI registered the product under the trademark Perspex. Polymethyl methacrylate was discovered in the early 1930s by British chemists Rowland Hill and John Crawford at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in the United Kingdom. affiliate Rohm and Haas Company under the trademark Plexiglas. Conn, Otto Röhm, and Walter Bauer, and first brought to market in 1933 by German Röhm & Haas AG (as of January 2019, part of Evonik Industries) and its partner and former U.S. It was developed in 1928 in several different laboratories by many chemists, such as William R. The reaction between methacrylic acid and methanol results in the ester methyl methacrylate. Methacrylic acid, derived from acrylic acid, was formulated in 1865. The first acrylic acid was created in 1843. It is often technically classified as a type of glass, in that it is a non-crystalline vitreous substance-hence its occasional historic designation as acrylic glass. It can also be used as a casting resin, in inks and coatings, and for many other purposes. This plastic is often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter-resistant alternative to glass. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and brands Crylux, Alfaplas, Plexiglas, Acrylite, Lucite, and Perspex, among several others ( see below). Being an engineering plastic, it is a transparent thermoplastic.

Poly( methyl methacrylate) ( PMMA) is the synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. Lichtenberg figure: high-voltage dielectric breakdown in an acrylic polymer block
