addition polymerization
(redirected from Addition polymerisation)Also found in: Medical.
addition polymerization
[ə¦dish·ən pə‚lim·ə·rə′zā·shən] (organic chemistry)
A reaction initiated by an anion, cation, or radical in which a large number of monomer units are added rapidly (a chain reaction) until terminated by some mechanism, forming a high-molecular-weight polymer in a very short time; an example is the free-radical polymerization of propylene to polypropylene.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.