Polyvinyl acetate
A thermoplastic adhesive used for porous materials.
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Polyvinyl acetate is a synthetic thermoplastic polymer used as an adhesive for porous materials like wood, paper, and cloth.[1] It is an aliphatic rubbery polymer belonging to the polyvinyl ester family.[1] Common names include wood glue, white glue, and Elmer's Glue in the US.[1]
Quick Facts
- Discoverer
- Fritz Klatte
- Discovery location
- Germany
- Glass transition temperature
- 30 to 45 °C
- Common name
- wood glue
- white glue
- carpenter's glue
- school glue
- Elmer's Glue
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
The monomer vinyl acetate was first produced industrially by adding acetic acid to acetylene with a mercury(I) salt catalyst.[2] Today, vinyl acetate is primarily made by palladium-catalyzed oxidative addition of acetic acid to ethylene.[2] As a water dispersion, PVAc preparations are used as adhesives for porous materials and as a consolidant for porous building stone.[3] Fritz Klatte first synthesized polyvinyl acetate in Germany during 1912.[4]
PVAc is regarded as safe for contact with food, leading to its use in materials that package food items.[3] Chewing gum bases and cigarette paper adhesives are among the applications for PVAc.[5] Through either partial or complete hydrolysis, polyvinyl acetate serves as the starting material for producing polyvinyl alcohol.[6] The ability of this saponification reaction to be reversed provided evidence that helped Hermann Staudinger develop his macromolecular theory.[6]
What the research sources say
A 2008 study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology reports that many microorganisms can degrade polyvinyl acetate.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murray, "Handbook of materials selection for engineering applications", CRC Press, 1997, p. 242 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rutherford John Gettens and George Leslie Stout, Painting Materials: A Short Encyclopaedia (Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand, 1942), page 74. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Young, "Stone consolidants and chemical treatments in Scotland", Robert Gordon University, Building Research Establishment and Historic Scotland, 1999; "CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21", www.accessdata.fda.gov, May 2025 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: See: * Deutsches Reichspatent no. 281687 (4 July 1913), Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry (London), vol. 34, p. 623 (1915); * Deutsches Reic (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Conservation of the Archimedes Palimpsest", The Walters Art Museum, 2011; Amann, "Biodegradability of Poly(vinyl acetate) and Related Polymers", Advances in Polymer Science, 2012, p. 137–172; Coggins, "A comprehensive toxicological evaluation of three adhesives using experimental cigarettes", Inhalation Toxicology, 2013, p. 6–18; Van den Berg, "Dutch-Type Cheeses", Elsevier, 1 January 2002, p. 371–378 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: H. Staudinger, K. Frey, W. Stark, Ber. Deut. Chem. Ges. 1927, 60, 1782. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Polyvinyl acetate" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Microorganisms Attack Synthetic Polymers in Items Representing Our Cultural Heritage", Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2008, p. 564–569 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Polyvinyl acetate (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Polymers And Macromolecules
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Polyvinyl acetate (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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