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Curing is a chemical process employed in polymer chemistry and process engineering that produces the toughening or hardening of a polymer material by cross-linking of polymer chains. [1] Even if it is strongly associated with the production of thermosetting polymers , the term "curing" can be used for all the processes where a solid product is ...
The problem of heat transfer is compounded by the highly exothermic nature of free radical addition polymerization. The polymerization is obtained with a broad molecular weight distribution due to the high viscosity and lack of good heat transfer. very high molecular weights are obtained. Gel effect.
In thermochemistry, an exothermic reaction is a "reaction for which the overall standard enthalpy change ΔH⚬ is negative." [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Exothermic reactions usually release heat . The term is often confused with exergonic reaction , which IUPAC defines as "... a reaction for which the overall standard Gibbs energy change Δ G ⚬ is negative."
In general, the polymerization is an exothermic process, i.e. negative enthalpy change, since addition of a monomer to the growing polymer chain involves the conversion of π bonds into σ bonds, or a ring–opening reaction that releases the ring tension in a cyclic monomer.
In vulcanization, sulfur is the cross-linking agent. Its introduction changes rubber to a more rigid, durable material associated with car and bike tires. This process is often called sulfur curing. In most cases, cross-linking is irreversible, and the resulting thermosetting material will degrade or burn if heated, without melting.
Figure 13: An energy profile diagram demonstrating the effect of a catalyst for the generic exothermic reaction of X + Y →Z. The catalyst offers an alternate reaction pathway (shown in red) where the rate determining step has a smaller ΔG≠. The relative thermodynamic stabilities remain the same.
Diverse methods are employed to manipulate the initiation, propagation, and termination rates during chain polymerization. A related issue is temperature control, also called heat management, during these reactions, which are often highly exothermic. For example, for the polymerization of ethylene, 93.6 kJ of energy are released per mole of ...
If decomposition is sufficiently exothermic, a positive feedback loop is created producing thermal runaway and possibly an explosion or other chemical reaction. Thermal decomposition is a chemical reaction where heat is a reactant.