Acrylic acid (IUPAC: prop-2-enoic acid) is anorganic compoundwith the formula CH₂=CHCO₂H. It is the simplestunsaturatedcarboxylic acid, consisting of avinylgroup connected directly to acarboxylic acidterminus. This colorless liquid has a characteristic acrid or tart smell. It is miscible withwater,alcohols,ethers, andchloroform. More than one billion kilograms are produced annually.^[3]

Acrylic acid undergoes the typicalreactions of a carboxylic acidand, when reacted with analcohol, it will form the correspondingester. The esters andsaltsof acrylic acid are collectively known asacrylates(or propenoates). The most common alkyl esters of acrylic acid are methyl-, butyl-, ethyl-, and 2-ethylhexyl-acrylate.

Acrylic acid and its esters readily combine with themselves (to formpolyacrylic acid) or othermonomers(e.g.acrylamides,acrylonitrile,vinyl,styrene, andbutadiene) by reacting at their double bond, forminghomopolymersorcopolymerswhich are used in the manufacture of variousplastics,coatings,adhesives,elastomers, as well as floor polishes, and paints.

• Acrylic acid is used in the manufacture of plastics, in latex applications, in floor polish, in polymer solutions for coatings applications, emulsion polymers, paint formulations, leather finishings, and paper coatings.  Acrylic acid is also used as a chemical intermediate. (1,7)