Title: topochemical polymerisation
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - topochemical polymerisation
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.15423
Status: current

Definition
Solid-state polymerization, resulting in the formation of a polymer having essentially the same crystal structure as that of the monomer.

Notes
1) A topochemical polymerization is usually initiated by irradiation of the crystalline monomer with, e.g., ultraviolet light, γ-rays, or by chemical initiators.
2) A topochemical polymerization does not involve significant atomic or molecular motions.

Related Term
- Solid-state polymerization: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/15421

Source
- PAC, 2008, 80, 2163. 'Glossary of terms related to kinetics, thermodynamics, and mechanisms of polymerization (IUPAC Recommendations 2008)' on page 2185 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200880102163)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15423/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15423/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/15423/xml

Citation: Citation: 'topochemical polymerisation' 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.15423
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Accessed: 2026-04-18T05:26:25+00:00