Reaction rates typically depend on temperature, so what about polymerization reactions? More specifically, how are rate of polymerization and degree of polymerization dependent on temperature? As with any other reaction, temperature changes the rate constants associated with the polymerization. But there are many rate constants that affect polymerization, so the effect of temperature is not necessarily straightforward. If the temperature increased, we expect there to be more radicals generated in a shorter time frame, so the concentration of active centers will go up. Because rate of polymerization is directly correlated with concentration of radicals, the rate of polymerization will also go up with temperature. Can we simply keep increasing the temperature to increase indefinitely? That's not really an effective strategy, because depolymerization, which is the polymer reverting to monomer, is favored at elevated temperatures. At the ceiling temperature, the rate of polymerization and depolymerization are equal. Also consider that at higher temperatures, with higher concentration of radicals, that also means that termination rates will be higher. As the rate of termination increases, the degree of polymerization decreases, and the polymers will be shorter. Thus, the temperature at which you run a polymerization reaction can have significant impact on the resulting polymer formed and should be considered carefully.