Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
X indicates a small substituent, which may be an atom such as hydrogen (H)
or chlorine (Cl) or it may be a group such as methyl (CH
), cyano (CN),
carboxyl (COOH), carbomethoxy (COOCH
3
), etc. The growing chain is
terminated by collision with another chain or other radical source or by one
of several other mechanisms. The number of monomer units in the polymer
chain is the
degree of polymerization
, abbreviated DP. If the degree of
polymerization is very low, the product is sometimes referred to as an
oligomer
.
3
