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Chemical Stabilizers are any substances that inhibit chemical reactions. A chemical stabilizer is the opposite of a catalyst, which promotes chemical reactions. A chemical stabilizer's purpose is to keep a substance in its initial state. Often, chemical stabilizers function by binding to a substance, preventing surrounding chemicals from interacting with it. Important classes of chemical stabilizers include antioxidants, sequestrants, emulsifiers, and UV stabilizers, all of which perform similar functions, but through different means. Chemical stabilizers are often used in food preservation, medicine, and the engineering of materials. Antioxidants inhibit oxidation in matter. Oxidation is the introduction of oxygen particles to substances, which are highly reactive and interact with free radicals, which can damage or alter substances and organisms. Through the use of antioxidants, materials can be protected from the binding of oxygen particles, which serves to safeguard them against interactions with free radicals. Sequestrants, on the other hand, inhibit reactions in some materials by binding with oxygen. In food preservation, sequestrants can be used to bind oxygen to fat molecules, preventing them from spoiling.(the use of phrases like 'one the other hand' is too informal for a tertiary source like Wikipedia) Emulsifiers serve a similar function to sequestrants, in that they are often used in food preservation. Emulsifiers function by affecting the kinetic interaction between two substances, meaning it can allow substances like oil and water to pass through each other, surround a substance and repel its surroundings, or increase the viscosity of a substance. UV stabilizers serve the purpose of preventing ultraviolet radiation from damaging a material. This type of stabilizer is often used in the engineering of plastics and films. UV stabilizers protect against the degradation of a material by absorbing ultraviolet radiation and preventing the formation of free radicals.

Citations •	Eagleson, M. (1994). Stabilizers. Concise encyclopedia chemistry (English language ed., pp. 1017-1018). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. •	Immanuel, C. D., Doyle, F. J., Cordeiro, C. F., & Sundaram, S. S. (2003). Population Balance PSD Model For Emulsion Polymerization With Steric Stabilizers. AIChE Journal, 49(6), 1392-         1404. •	(2012). PEO-Based Star Copymers as Stabilizers for Water –in-Oil or Oil-in-Water Emulsions. ACS Publications, 1, 9419-9426. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ma3016773 •	stabilizer (chemistry). (n.d.).Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Retrieved December 6, 2013, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/562250/stabilizer