Picture this: it’s 1843, and the first acrylic acid debuted. Fast forward to 1865, methacrylic acid, an acrylic acid derivative, enters the
scene. This leads to the creation of the ester methyl methacrylate, birthed from the union of methacrylic acid and methanol.
Fast forward to 1928, a year of discovery. Multiple laboratories and pioneering chemists like William R. Conn, Otto Röhm, and Walter
Bauer are cooking up something new. By 1933, German company Röhm & Haas AG, now part of Evonik Industries, introduced the
world to a market-ready product trademarked as Plexiglas.
Let’s switch scenes to the early 1930s in the United Kingdom, where British chemists Rowland Hill and John Crawford at Imperial
Chemical Industries (ICI) stumble upon polymethyl methacrylate. They trademark it as Perspex. Around the same period,
Otto Röhm, back in Germany, is experimenting with a blend of methyl methacrylate and glass in his quest for safety glass. He had a
transparent plastic sheet, which he aptly trademarked as Plexiglas in 1933.
By the late 1930s, both Perspex and Plexiglas had hit the commercial market. Not far behind, E.I. du Pont de Nemours &
Company (now DuPont Company) introduces Lucite, their own take on acrylic.
By 1936, ICI Acrylics, now Lucite International, begins commercial production of acrylic safety glass. During World War II,
acrylic glass became a critical component for Allied and Axis forces, featuring submarine periscopes and aircraft components.
Post-war, its civilian applications expand. It’s a story of invention and reinvention, proving the timeless relevance of acrylic plastic.
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- Next:What Is Acrylic Plastic? (PMMA)
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