Homogeneous degradation

Term · Chemistry · MLC-T-CHM-005365

Degradation that proceeds at the same rate everywhere within a polymeric item, so the whole bulk breaks down evenly instead of eroding inward from the surface. In water it happens when soluble breakdown products that speed up hydrolysis escape the matrix faster than they are themselves consumed, and in air or other non-solvents it follows because those products cannot leave. Enzymes are too large to enter dense polymer, so enzymatic attack is typically surface erosion instead.

Table 1. Record
Identifier	MLC-T-CHM-005365
Field	Chemistry
Subject	Polymer
References	PAC, 2020, 92, 193. 'Nomenclature and terminology for linear lactic acid-based polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2019)' on page 208 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2017-1007)

Record as JSON

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-005365",
  "term": "Homogeneous degradation",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "Degradation that proceeds at the same rate everywhere within a polymeric item, so the whole bulk breaks down evenly instead of eroding inward from the surface. In water it happens when soluble breakdown products that speed up hydrolysis escape the matrix faster than they are themselves consumed, and in air or other non-solvents it follows because those products cannot leave. Enzymes are too large to enter dense polymer, so enzymatic attack is typically surface erosion instead.",
  "subject": "Polymer",
  "references": [
    "PAC, 2020, 92, 193. 'Nomenclature and terminology for linear lactic acid-based polymers (IUPAC Recommendations 2019)' on page 208 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2017-1007)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/homogeneous-degradation/"
}

Record 5,685 of 13,676 in Chemistry terminology (MLC-0109). Request the full dataset.