Title: chain deactivation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - chain deactivation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08943
Status: current

Definition
Conversion of a chain carrier into an inactive species.

Notes
1) Chain deactivation, unlike chain termination, may be reversible.
2) The reverse of chain deactivation is chain activation or chain reactivation.
3) The recommended symbol for the rate coefficient for chain deactivation in a polymerization is \(k_{\rm{deact}}\).

Related Terms
- chain activation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08941
- chain reactivation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08945
- chain termination: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08946

Source
- PAC, 2022, 94, 1093. 'Terminology for chain polymerization (IUPAC Recommendations 2021)' on page 1117 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-1211)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08943/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08943/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08943/xml

Citation: Citation: 'chain deactivation' 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.08943
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-06-21T16:10:48+00:00