depolymerize

[ dee-puh-lim-uh-rahyz, dee-pol-uh-muh- ]

verb (used with object)

, Chemistry.

, de·po·lym·er·ized, de·po·lym·er·iz·ing.

1. to break down (a polymer ) into monomers.

depolymerize

/ diːˈpɒlɪməˌraɪz /

verb

1. to break (a polymer) into constituent monomers or (of a polymer) to decompose in this way

Derived Forms

• deˌpolymeriˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• depo·lymer·i·zation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of depolymerize¹

First recorded in 1890–95; de- + polymerize

Example Sentences

Some thermosets7 have been designed to depolymerize at low temperatures under acid conditions.

From Nature

"We add wood to a reactor and then we also need a catalyst, which is a specific material that will do the chemical reactions in the wood so it will selectively depolymerize our lignin material into chemicals; and then last but not least we also need solvent to extract the lignin out of the solid material and there we can use water for or also various kinds of bio-derived alcohols," Van Den Bosch said.

From Reuters