Acrylates and methacrylates are two important classes of polymers used in a wide variety of products. Acrylates are polymers made from a family of monomers, which have a vinyl group attached to the carbonyl carbon of an ester group. Methacrylates have a methyl group attached to the alpha carbon.
Acrylates are used in the manufacture of printing inks, coatings and paints, sealants, adhesives, and textile fibers. The simplest member of this group of polymers, polyacrylate is a superabsorbent and is used in diapers.
Methacrylates are used in the manufacture of a wide range of medical equipment and many other medical and dental applications. They are also used in the manufacture of electronics and computers, extruded sheets for windows, lights, signs and molded resin for contact lenses, glasses and car parts.
This work will show the pyrolysis fragmentation patterns for a range of acrylate and methacrylate polymers along with the analysis of several consumer products containing these polymeric materials. The GERSTEL pyrolyzer (PYRO) in combination with gas chromatography mass spectrometry was used for the analysis.