Sulfur vulcanization a reaction with low levels of unsaturated organic linkers (e.g. 1,3‐diisopropenylbenzene). This process is called inverse vulcanisation and produces polymers where sulfur is the main component. It is not currently of commercial importance but had been investigated as a means of producing polymers for lithium–sulfur batterys and for creating water filters with a high affinity for mercury. The curing of rubber has been carried out since prehistoric times. The name of the first major civilization in Guatemala and Mexico, the Olmec, means 'rubber people' in the Aztec language. Ancient Mesoamericans, spanning from ancient Olmecs to Aztecs, extracted latex from "Castilla
Rubber toughening viable option for practical applications in architecture and car manufacturing as a substitute for glass when high transparency is necessary. Incorporating a rubber filler phase increases the toughness. Such fillers need to form strong interfacial bonds with the PMMA matrix. In applications where optical transparency is important, measures must be taken to limit light scattering. It is common in toughening PMMA, and in other composites, to synthesize core-shell particles via atom-transfer radical-polymerization that have an outer polymer layer that has properties similar to those of the primary phase that increases the particle’s adhesion to the matrix. Developing PMMA compatible core-shell