ring-opening polymerization
A
polymerization
in which a cyclic
monomer
yields a
monomeric unit
which is acyclic or contains fewer cycles than the
monomer
.
Note:
If the
monomer
is polycyclic, the opening of a single ring is sufficient to classify the reaction as ring-opening
polymerization
.
Source:
PAC, 1996,
68
, 2287
(Glossary of basic terms in polymer science (IUPAC Recommendations 1996))
on page 2308