The Essential Handbook of Polymer Terms and Attributes

25 Chain-Growth Polymerization

DOI: 10.1201/9781003161318-25

Chain-growth polymerization is a polymerization technique where unsaturated monomer molecules add on to the active site on a growing polymer chain one at a time.

Typically, chain-growth polymerization can be understood with the chemical equation:

$P_n\text{ * }+\to P_{n+1}+L\left(n=1,2,3,4\mathrm{.......}\right)$

In this equation, P is the polymer while n represents the degree of polymerization, * is the active center of chain-growth polymerization, M is the monomer which will react with the active center, and L is a low-molar-mass byproduct obtained during chain propagation.

Chain polymerization consists of initiation and propagation reactions and may also include termination and chain transfer reactions.

Types ...