Title: catalytic chain transfer
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - catalytic chain transfer
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08939
Status: current

Definition
Chain-transfer process involving transfer of an atom or group to a reagent (the catalyst) that in turn transfers that group to a monomer to reinitiate polymerization and regenerate the original reagent.

Note
An example of polymerization with catalytic chain transfer is radical polymerization in the presence of certain square-planar cobalt complexes.

Example
Polymerization with catalytic chain transfer is radical polymerization in the presence of certain square-planar cobalt complexes.

Related Terms
- organometallic-mediated radical polymerization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08920
- reversible-deactivation radical polymerizations: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08916

Source
- PAC, 2022, 94, 1093. 'Terminology for chain polymerization (IUPAC Recommendations 2021)' on page 1116 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-1211)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08939/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08939/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08939/xml

Citation: Citation: 'catalytic chain transfer' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.08939
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Accessed: 2026-04-18T09:10:40+00:00