ABSTRACT
Oxidation inhibitors such as phenols and aromatic amines function by reacting with peroxide radicals (Chapter 4). However, this chain termination reaction is not the only one in which the inhibitor is involved. Inhibitors can participate in every step of polymer oxidation-initiation, propagation, branching, and termination-being oxidized by molecular oxygen and reacting with hydroperoxide groups in the polymer. Inhibitor conversion products remain in the polymer and may eventually become involved in the different stages of polymer oxidation. All this complicates the inhibited oxidation mechanism and requires certain special techniques to describe the process.
