Title: chain-walking polymerization
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - chain-walking polymerization
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.09002
Status: current

Definition
Coordination polymerization in which the chain carrier migrates along the formed polymer chain through a series of \(\ce{\upbeta\mbox{-}hydrogen}\) eliminations and reinsertions with inversion of stereochemistry.

Notes
1) In contrast to classical coordination polymerizations, which provide linear polyethylene, CWP of ethylene leads to a branched polymer.
2) CWP of \(\ce{\upbeta\mbox{-}olefins}\) generally leads to less branched polymers than those formed by classical coordination polymerization.

Example
Aryl-substituted α-diimine-palladium(II) complexes.

Related Term
- coordination polymerizations: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08995

Source
- PAC, 2022, 94, 1093. 'Terminology for chain polymerization (IUPAC Recommendations 2021)' on page 1138 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2020-1211)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09002/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09002/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/09002/xml

Citation: Citation: 'chain-walking 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.09002
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Accessed: 2026-06-22T02:58:58+00:00