The oxidation of low-density polyethylene by molecular oxygen was studied in the temperature range 80-210 degrees C. In the curves of temperature dependence of several parameters of inhibited oxidation, breaks were observed at the melting temperature, near 110 degrees C. At this temperature, the pre-exponential factor calculated from the temperature dependence of the rate constant of inhibitor consumption changed 105 times, sharply increasing at the transition from the polymer melt to the solid polymer. This indicated that an essential difference existed between the properties of the intercrystalline amorphous polymeric substance and the completely molten one. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.