Antioxidant Families

Antioxidants interrupt the degradation process in different ways, according to their structure. The major classifications of antioxidants are listed below:

Primary Antioxidants, mainly acting as chain-breaking antioxidants, react rapidly with peroxy radicals (ROO*).

Secondary Antioxidants, reacting with hydroperoxides (ROOH) to yield non-radical, non-reactive products, are frequently called hydroperoxide decomposers.

Multi-functional Antioxidants, combining both primary and secondary antioxidant functions in one compound, have only recently become available

Hydroxylamines, capable of scavenging C-radicals, act as both primary and secondary antioxidants.

Carbon-Centered Radical Scavengers, effective in trapping alkyl radicals, provides powerful processing stability.