Chain cleavage

Chain scission is a term from polymer chemistry in connection with the breakdown of a polymer . It is triggered by thermal stress (heat) or ionizing radiation (e.g. light, UV radiation or γ radiation ), often through simultaneous exposure to oxygen. When the chain splits, the polymer chain is broken at any point on the backbone with the formation of two - mostly still high-molecular - fragments.

On the other hand, depolymerization is understood to mean the elimination of low molecular weight substances ( monomers or also dimers and the like) from a polymer.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A.D. McNaught, A. Wilkinson: chain scission . In: IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the “Gold Book”) . 2nd Edition. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-9678550-9-8 , doi : 10.1351 / goldbook.C00961 (English, corrected version (XML; 2006–) by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; with updates by A. Jenkins - Version: 2.3.3).
2. ↑ Sebastian Kotzenburg, Michael Maskus, Oskar Nuyken: Polymers - Synthesis, Properties and Applications , Springer Spectrum, 2014, pp. 440–441, ISBN 978-3-642-34772-6 .
3. ↑ Otto-Albrecht Neumüller (Ed.): Römpps Chemie-Lexikon. Volume 2: Cm-G. 8th revised and expanded edition. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04512-9 , p. 891.