Summary
We have now completed our lessons focused on free radical polymerization. The reactions, kinetics, and mechanisms you learned in Lessons 4 and 5 will be found elsewhere in the course, however, as radical polymerization is one of the most ubiquitous polymerization mechanisms. Next, we will be moving on to ionic polymerization, which as you will see has quite a few similarities in terms of the reaction mechanism to free radical. A key difference, however, is that the active center is no longer a radical, but an ion - and the fact that it is charged is what is going to give ionic polymerization distinguishing characteristics from free radical polymerization. Pay attention to similarities and difference between these reaction pathways as we move forward in the course.
Reminder - Complete all of the Lesson 5 tasks!
You have reached the end of Lesson 5! Review the checklist on the Lesson 5 Overview / Checklist page to make sure you have completed all of the activities listed there before you begin Lesson 6.