Pendant group

Pendant groupSide-groupAn offshoot, neither oligomeric nor polymeric, from a chain.

[1] In IUPAC nomenclature of chemistry, a pendant group (sometimes spelled pendent) or side group is a group of atoms attached to a backbone chain of a long molecule, usually a polymer.

Large, bulky pendant groups such as adamantyl usually raise the glass transition temperature (Tg) of a polymer by preventing the chains from sliding past each other easily.

Short alkyl pendant groups may lower the Tg by a lubricant effect.

This article about polymer science is a stub.