In the 1950s, Dr. Herbert Koch from the Max Plank Institute in Mülheim, Germany, found that olefins may react with carbon monoxide and water under the influence of strong acids to form tertiary branched neocarboxylic acids (Figure 1). Before the intermediate carbocation reacts with carbon monoxide, isomerization reactions are observed and, therefore, the resulting acid is composed of a number of isomers.1,2
The neocarboxylic acid can be converted into its vinyl ester monomer by reaction with acetylene. Today, these monomers are marketed under the trade name VeoVa™ vinyl ester and are also widely referred to in industry as vinyl versatate monomers, neo-esters or VV monomers.