Title: ring-opening nucleophilic chain polymerization
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - ring-opening nucleophilic chain polymerization
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08983
Status: current

Definition
Nucleophilic chain polymerization in which a cyclic monomer yields a monomeric unit that is either acyclic or contains fewer rings than the cyclic monomer.

Example
Non-ionic monomers used in ring-opening nucleophilic chain polymerization include intramolecular anhydrides of N-carboxy amino acids (commonly referred to as N-carboxy anhydrides or NCAs).

Related Term
- Nucleophilic chain polymerization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08982

Source
- PAC, 2022, 94, 1093. 'Terminology for chain polymerization (IUPAC Recommendations 2021)' on page 1129 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-1211)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08983/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08983/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08983/xml

Citation: Citation: 'ring-opening nucleophilic chain polymerization' 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.08983
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Accessed: 2026-06-30T22:28:34+00:00