Methacrylates are the salts or esters of methacrylic acid

Methacrylic acid

Methacrylic acid, abbreviated MAA, is an organic compound. This colourless, viscous liquid is a carboxylic acid with an acrid unpleasant odor. It is soluble in warm water and miscible with most organic solvents. Methacrylic acid is produced industrially on a large scale as a precursor to its...

.

Methacrylates contain methyl-vinyl

Vinyl

A vinyl compound is any organic compound that contains a vinyl group ,which are derivatives of ethene, CH2=CH2, with one hydrogen atom replaced with some other group...

 groups, that is, two carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

 atom

Atom

The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...

s double bond

Double bond

A double bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two chemical elements involving four bonding electrons instead of the usual two. The most common double bond, that between two carbon atoms, can be found in alkenes. Many types of double bonds between two different elements exist, for example in...

ed to each other, directly attached to the carbonyl

Carbonyl

In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom: C=O. It is common to several classes of organic compounds, as part of many larger functional groups....

 carbon, and wherein the vinyl group is substituted with a non-terminal methyl group.

Methacrylates are common monomer

Monomer

A monomer is an atom or a small molecule that may bind chemically to other monomers to form a polymer; the term "monomeric protein" may also be used to describe one of the proteins making up a multiprotein complex...

s in polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

 plastic

Plastic

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...

s, forming the acrylate polymers

Acrylate polymers

An acrylate polymer belongs to a group of polymers which could be referred to generally as plastics. They are noted for their transparency and resistance to breakage and elasticity...

. Methacrylates easily form polymers because the double bonds are very reactive. They are used as the monomer resin in some windscreen repair kits, and as bone cement for fixing prosthetic devices in orthopaedic surgery.
Methacrylate Acid is often used in Gel Manicure procedures. It is the first step to getting the UV Gel to adhere to the nail. It has a very strong smell.--