What is crosslinking?

Crosslinking is the process of forming covalent bonds or moderately short sequences of chemical bonds to join two polymer chains together; the polymers in the process may either be synthetic or natural polymers. Crosslinking is an irreversible change and occurs from various physical and chemical reactions.Extensive crosslinking results in a random 3D matrix of interconnected polymer chains. This formed substance has high rigidity, hardness, and a higher melting point than the same polymer would have without crosslinking; hard and rigid plastics in consumer use are primarily crosslinked (e.g., Bakelite, and melamine). It is important to note that reagents that are used for the crosslinking process are referred to as “crosslinking agents” or “crosslinkers”.