Editing Poly(methyl methacrylate) (section)

==History==

The first acrylic acid was created in 1843. [[Methacrylic acid]], derived from [[acrylic acid]], was formulated in 1865. The reaction between methacrylic acid and [[methanol]] results in the ester [[methyl methacrylate]]. 

It was developed in 1928 in several different laboratories by many chemists, such as William R. Conn, [[Otto Röhm]], and Walter Bauer, and first brought to market in 1933 by German ''Röhm & Haas AG'' (as of January 2019, part of [[Evonik Industries]]) and its partner and former U.S. affiliate [[Rohm and Haas|Rohm and Haas Company]] under the [[trademark]] Plexiglas.<ref>[https://history.evonik.com/sites/geschichte/de/erfindungen/plexiglas/ Plexiglas history by Evonik] (in German).</ref>

Polymethyl methacrylate was discovered in the early 1930s by British chemists Rowland Hill and John Crawford at [[Imperial Chemical Industries]] (ICI) in the United Kingdom.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}} ICI registered the product under the trademark Perspex. About the same time, chemist and industrialist [[Otto Röhm]] of Röhm and Haas AG in Germany attempted to produce safety glass by polymerizing methyl methacrylate between two layers of glass. The polymer separated from the glass as a clear plastic sheet, which Röhm gave the trademarked name Plexiglas in 1933.<ref>{{cite web |title=DPMAregister {{!}} Marken - Registerauskunft |url=https://register.dpma.de/DPMAregister/marke/register/461639/DE |access-date=2021-09-29 |website=register.dpma.de}}</ref> Both Perspex and Plexiglas were commercialized in the late 1930s. In the United States, E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (now DuPont Company) subsequently introduced its own product under the trademark Lucite. In 1936 ICI Acrylics (now Lucite International) began the first commercially viable production of acrylic safety glass. During [[World War II]] both Allied and Axis forces used acrylic glass for submarine periscopes and aircraft windscreen, canopies, and gun turrets. Scraps of acrylic were also used to make clear pistol grips for the M1911A1 pistol or clear handle grips for the M1 bayonet or theater knifes so that soldiers could put small photos of loved ones or pin-up girls' pictures inside. They were called "Sweetheart Grips" or "Pin-up Grips". Others were used to make handles for theater knives made from scrap materials.<ref>{{cite book |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 77th Congress First Session |date=1941 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=A2300–A2302 |edition=Volume 87, Part 11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXBvFGzeUp4C&dq=plexiglas+war&pg=SL1-PA2301 |access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref> Civilian applications followed after the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/polymethyl-methacrylate |title=Polymethyl methacrylate |access-date=2017-05-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031004312/https://www.britannica.com/science/polymethyl-methacrylate |archive-date=2017-10-31}}</ref>