Properties and Applications of Acrylates

Acrylates are the esters, salts and conjugate bases of acrylic acid with its derivatives.They are made from acrylate monomer, which usually comprises of esters which contains vinyl groups, that is two carbon atoms that are double-bonded to each other, and directly attached to the carbonyl carbon of the ester group.Acrylates possess very diverse characteristic properties ranging from super-absorbency, transparency, flexibility, toughness and hardness, among others.These kinds of materials are used in sundry applications such as diapers, cosmetics, orthopedics, paints and coatings, adhesives, textiles, and many biomedical applications such as contact lenses and bone cements.This book chapter highlights the characteristic properties and applications of acrylates, its derivatives and copolymers.