Polyvinyl esters are a group of

thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains as ...

vinyl polymers Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

. The most important examples of this group are

polyvinyl acetate Polyvinyl acetate (PVA, PVAc, poly(ethenyl ethanoate)), commonly known as wood glue (a term that may also refer to other types of glues), PVA glue, white glue, carpenter's glue, school glue, or Elmer's Glue in the US, is a widely available adh ...

(PVAC) and polyvinyl propionate.

Production

The

radical polymerization In polymer chemistry, radical polymerization (RP) is a method of polymerization by which a polymer forms by the successive addition of a radical to building blocks ( repeat units). Radicals can be formed by a number of different mechanisms, usu ...

of vinyl ester 1 (e.g. in case of

vinyl acetate Vinyl acetate is an organic compound with the Chemical formula, formula CH3CO2CH=CH2. This colorless liquid is the precursor to polyvinyl acetate, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol, and other important industrial polymers. Prod ...

; R = CH₃) yields polyvinyl ester 2: Polyvinyl ester Synthesis V1

Use

The transparent polymers are used for the production of

lacquers Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be c ...

and as

adhesives Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

. The hydrolytic cleavage of the ester bonds of vinyl acetate is of industrial significance.{{citation, surname1=Sebastian Kotzenburg, Michael Maskus, Oskar Nuyken, title=Polymere: Synthese, Eigenschaften und Anwendungen, publisher=Springer Spektrum, location=Berlin, at=pp. 429–430, isbn=978-3-642-34772-6, date=2014, language=German

References

Thermoplastics