Synthesis and Characterization of Glycidyl Esters of Acrylic and Methacrylic Acids for NIPU Coatings

Glycidyl acrylate (GA) and Glycidylmethacrylate (GMA) are the reaction products of the epichlorohydrin (ECH) with acrylic acid (AA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) respectively. These monomers were synthesized via two different routes i.e. direct reaction of AA and MAA with ECH and second by reaction of AA and MAA with Sodium hydroxide to form sodium salt of the acid followed by reacting with ECH. The polymerization inhibitor used was tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) and catalysts used were triethylamine (TEA) and quaternary ammonium salt. Experimental results show that first route is suitable for synthesizing GA and second route is suitable for synthesis of GMA. The catalysts also have drastic effect on the conversion to the respective glycidyl esters. The study of the effect of catalyst and polymerization inhibitor has been carried out via both routes.