Butyl acrylate Production

Catalysts. Silver and silver compounds are widely used in research and industry as catalysts for oxidation, reduction, and polymerization reactions. Silver nitrate has been reported as a catalyst for the preparation of propylene oxide (qv) from propylene (qv) (58), and silver acetate has been reported as being a suitable catalyst for the production of ethylene oxide (qv) from ethylene (qv) (59). The solubiUty of silver perchlorate in organic solvents makes it a possible catalyst for polymerization reactions, such as the production of butyl acrylate polymers in dimethylformamide (60) or the polymerization of methacrylamide (61). Similarly, the solubiUty of silver tetrafiuoroborate in organic solvents has enhanced its use in the synthesis of 3-pyrrolines by the cyclization of aHenic amines (62). 

Acrylic Esters. A procedure has been described for preparation of higher esters from methyl acrylate that illustrates the use of an acid catalyst together with the removal of one of the products by azeotropic distillation (112). Another procedure for the preparation of butyl acrylate, secondary alkyl acrylates, and hydroxyalkyl acrylates using -toluenesulfonic acid as a catalyst has been described (113). Alurninumisopropoxide catalyzes the reaction of amino alcohols with methyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate. A review of the synthesis of acryhc esters by transesterification is given in Reference 114 (see... 

Copolymers of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate gave polymers that were somewhat tougher and slightly softer than the homopolymers. Materials believed to be of this type were marketed in sheet form by ICI as Asterite for a short while in the 1960s (the name having been recently revived for another product as described in Section 15.2.6). 

RAFT end groups are known to be unstable at very high temperatures (>200 °C). Thermal elimination has been used as a means of trithiocarbonate end group removal. For ps430,4W direct elimination is observed (Scheme 9.54). For poly(butyl acrylate)464 the major product suggests a hoinolysis/backbiting/ i-scission reaction is involved (Scheme 9.55). 

The micellar effect on the endo/exo diastereoselectivity of the reaction has also been investigated. The endo/exo ratio of the reaction of cyclopentadiene with methyl acrylate is affected little (compared to water) by the use of SDS and CTAB [73b], while a large enhancement was observed in SDS solution when n-butyl acrylate was the dienophile used [74]. The ratio of endo/exo products in the reaction of 1 with 113c is not affected by CTAB, SDS and C12E7 [72a]. 

General procedure for Heck coupling. A mixture of POPd (16.0 mg, 6 mol%), quinoline derivative (0.56 mmol), tert-butyl acrylate (356 mg, 2.8 mmol), and base (0.61 mmol) was stirred in 5 mL of anhydrous DMF at 135 °C for 24 h. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature, quenched with water, and extracted with Et20. The combined organic layers were washed with water, dried over MgS04, and the solvents were removed under vacuum. The crude products were purified by flash chromatography on silica gel. 

Double hydrophilic star-block (PEO-fo-PAA)3 copolymers were prepared by a combination of anionic and ATRP of EO and fBuA [150]. Three-arm PEO stars, with terminal - OH groups were prepared by anionic polymerization, using l,l,l-tris(hydroxymethyl)ethane, activated with DPMK as a trifunctional initiator. The hydroxyl functions were subsequently transformed to three bromo-ester groups, which were utilized to initiate the polymerization of f-butyl acrylate by ATRP in the presence of CuBr/PMDETA. Subsequent hydrolysis of the f-butyl groups yielded the desired products (Scheme 74). 

In some reactions, the choice of PTC can actually alter the distribution of products for example, the reaction of t-butyl acrylate with chloroform under basic phase transfer conditions gives two major products, as illustrated in Scheme 5.8, the amounts of which are catalyst dependent [46],... 

Although the above demonstrated that product control could be achieved in scC02, the difference in selectivity was relatively small. However, later work using a Lewis acid catalyst, scandium triflate, on the Diels-Alder reaction of n-butyl acrylate and cyclopentadiene (Scheme 7.7) showed that the endo exo ratio was again found to rise to a maximum and then decrease again as the pressure, and hence density, was increased (Figure 7.3) [19]. 

Butyl acrylate. 1-hexene was used as the starting material. After 15 h the reaction mixture contained n-hexyane and 1-hexene 2-hexenes 3-hexenes in a 1 10 1 ratio. Product is a mixture of cyclooctene (ca. 99%) and cyclooctane. From [161]. 

Ganushchak et al. (1972, 1984) proposed to perform the Meerwein chloroarylation of ethylenic compounds using the preliminarily prepared aryldiazonium tetrachlorocuprates. They found that methyl, ethyl, butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, and acrylonitrile in the polar solvent reacted with tetrachlorocuprate. Chloroarylation products were obtained with better yields than when using the traditional Meerwein reaction conditions. 

Product Identification was by GC/MS, NMR, and IR. Fundamental crosslinking chemistry was explored using swell measurements on simple solution copolymers and swell and tensile measurements with vinyl acetate (VAc), vinyl acetate/butyl acrylate (VAc/BA) or vinyl acetate/ethylene (VAE) emulsion copolymers. Polymer synthesis 1s described In a subsequent paper (6). Homopolymer Tg was measured by DSC on a sample polymerized In Isopropanol. Mechanistic studies were done 1n solution, usually at room temperature, with 1, 2 and the acetyl analogs 1, 2 (R =CH3). 

Some acrylates are still produced by a modified Reppe process that involves the reaction of acetylene, the appropriate alcohol (in the case of butyl acrylate, butyl alcohol is used), and carbon monoxide in the presence of an acid. The process is continuous and a small amount of acrylates is made this way. The most economical method of acrylate production is that of the direct oxidation of propylene to acrylic acid, followed by esterification. 

Close to 2 billion pounds of polymeric products based on acrylic and methacrylic esters are produced annually in the United States, about evenly divided between acrylates and methacrylates. A substantial fraction of the methacrylate products are copolymers. Most of the acrylate products are copolymers. The copolymers contain various combinations of acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers, including combinations of ester and acid monomers. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is by far the most important methacrylate ester monomer, accounting for 90% of the volume of methacrylic ester monomers. Ethyl and n-butyl acrylates account for about 80% of the total volume of acrylate ester monomers. 

Please note due to differences in the copolymerization parameters of n-butyl acrylate and methacrylic acid a continuous addition of the monomer mixture is necessary in order to achieve a homogeneous composition of the copolymer product. 

The Heck reaction is a C-C coupling reaction where an unsaturated hydrocarbon or arene halide/triflate/sulfonate reacts with an alkene in presence of a base and Pd(0) catalyst so as to form a substituted alkene. Kaufmann et al. showed that the Heck reaction carried out in presence of ILs such as tetra-alkyl ammonium and phosphonium salts without the phosphine ligands, resulted in high yields of product. They attributed the activity to the stabilizing effect of ammonium and phosphonium salts on Pd(0) species. Carmichael et al. used ionic liquids containing either A,A -dialkylimidazolium and A-alkylpyridinium cations with anions such as halide, hexafluorophosphate or tetrafiuoroborate to carry out reactions of aryl halide and benzoic anhydride with ethyl and butyl acrylates in presence of Pd catalyst. An example of iodobenzene reacting with ethyl acrylate to give trans-et vy cinnamate is shown in Scheme 14. 

Product Vinyl acetate, butyl acrylate, and vinyl neodecanoate (60/15.3/24.7[w/w]) latex polymer... 

Water (28 g) and polyoxyethylene phenyl ether sulfuric acid ester emulsifier (0.08 g) were added to a 300-ml flask and heated to 85°C while stirring. This solution was then treated with a mixture of the step 4 product (6.3 g), methyl methacrylate (41.6 g), styrene (14 g), butyl acrylate (23.5 g), 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (14.6 g), water (51.6 g), polyoxyethylene phenyl ether sulfuric acid ester emulsifier (6.6 g), and 0.3 g of sodium persulfate over 4 hours. Thereafter, a mixture of water (5.2 g) and ammonium persulfate (0.1 g) were added over 30 minutes and the mixture stirred for an additional 2 hours. It was then cooled to ambient temperature and a white resin isolated, which consisted of 52% solids with a polymerization conversion of 99%. 

Butyl acrylate is used in the production of polymers and resins for textile and leather finishes, solvent coatings, adhesives, paints, binders and emulsifiers (Lewis, 1993 United States National Library of Medicine, 1997). 

According to the 1981-83 National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES, 1997), approximately 40 000 workers in the United States were potentially exposed to z7-butyl acrylate (see General Remarks). Occupational exposures may occur in its manufacture and use in the production of polymers and resins, including emulsion polymers for paints. 

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