____________ may be needed to avoid polymer or peroxide formation.

• A. Inhibitors
• B. Aldehydes
• C. Additional heating
• D. Additional primary reactant

Answer: (A)

Polymerization and autoxidation are radical chain reactions that can surge in reactive liquids during storage, leading to runaway heat and hazards. Small amounts of inhibitors are used to prevent this by scavenging free radicals that would otherwise start or propagate these chains. By neutralizing reactive radicals, inhibitors interrupt the chain reactions before polymers or peroxides can form, stabilizing the material during storage and handling.

Aldehydes don’t provide that general protection; they aren’t reliable radical scavengers for preventing polymerization or peroxide formation. Adding heat would accelerate these reactions, making the hazard worse, and adding more of the primary reactant supplies more material to react, not to stabilize it.