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
Polymer monomer(s) from which they are synthesized rather than the precise nature of the repeating subunit. For example, the polymer synthesized from the simple alkene ethene is called polyethylene, retaining the "-ene" suffix even though the double bond is removed during the polymerization process: Polymer characterization spans many techniques for determining the chemical composition, molecular weight distribution, and physical properties. Select common techniques include the following: Polymer degradation is a change in the properties—tensile strength, color, shape, or molecular weight—of a polymer or polymer-based product under the influence of one or more environmental factors, such as heat, light, chemicals and, in