The terms “step-growth polymerization” and “chain-growth polymerization” are used widely in both written and oral communications to describe the two main mechanisms of polymer growth. As members of the Subcommittee on Polymer Terminology (SPT) in the Polymer Division of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), we are concerned that these terms are confusing because they do not describe the fundamental differences in the growth of polymers by these methods.
