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Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)

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Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials

Synonyms

Acrylic glass; Methacrylic resin; PMMA; Polymethacrylate

Definition

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a polymer of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and an ester of poly(methacrylic acid) chemically. PMMA is usually synthesized by the radical polymerization of MMA, and the anionic and coordination polymerizations are also available. PMMA is one of the methacrylic resins, generally called as acrylic resin. PMMA is a transparent thermoplastic showing impact-resistant, weather-resistant, and chemical-resistant properties and is known as a substitute for inorganic glass. Since PMMA is rigid and light in weight and has color versatility, it is used in various applications across optical materials, automobiles, electronics, displays, and other industries.

Manufacturing Method

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is usually obtained by the addition polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) (Fig. 1). In the middle of the 1930s, ICI Acrylics (now Lucite International) invented the first...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1-S1-13 Ohokayama, 152-8552, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Raita Goseki & Takashi Ishizone

Authors
  1. Raita Goseki
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  2. Takashi Ishizone
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Takashi Ishizone .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Fiber and Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

    Shiro Kobayashi

  2. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany

    Klaus Müllen

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Goseki, R., Ishizone, T. (2015). Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). In: Kobayashi, S., Müllen, K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Polymeric Nanomaterials. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29648-2_244

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