A new procedure for the direct study of the chemical reactivity of acrylate radicals is developed: the acrylate radicals are produced by the addition of an aminoalkyl radical to an acrylate double bond and directly observed by transient absorption spectroscopy. These acrylate radicals are characterized by a strong absorption in the visible part of the spectrum allowing to easily probe their chemical reactivity. This provides a new access to their interactions with different additives. Moreover, the subsequent addition to another acrylate double bond as well as the recombination of two acrylate radicals are also investigated. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.