Polycondensation, polyaddition and polymer modification

The aim of this article is to present the theoretical bases of polyaddition and polycondensation, in particular the definition of their main stages, their thermodynamics and kinetics; the contribution of secondary reactions is analyzed. Relationships allowing the control and distribution of molar masses, as well as those relating to the phenomenon of gelation, are given. The main polyaddition and polycondensation techniques are described, in particular those developed more recently.

We also discuss the growing importance of chemical modification in macromolecular synthesis and its industrial development.