Crosslinking
Crosslinking creates chemical or physical connections between polymer chains. These links can increase heat resistance, solvent resistance, elasticity, dimensional stability, mechanical strength, and durability, but they may also reduce melt processability or recyclability depending on the system.
See related terms:
Hydrolysis Resistance
Polymer
Stress Relaxation
Thermoplastic Elastomer
Vulcanization
Polymer chain diagram showing crosslinked network structure.