Sulfur vulcanization in the processing and compounding of rubber by Hancock and his colleagues led to a more reliable process. Around 1900, disulfiram was introduced as a vulcanizing agent, and became widely used. In 1905 George Oenslager discovered that a derivative of aniline called thiocarbanilide accelerated the reaction of sulfur with rubber, leading to shorter cure times and reducing energy consumption. This breakthrough was almost as fundamental to the rubber industry as Goodyear's sulfur cure. Accelerators made the cure process faster, improved the reliability of the process and enabled vulcanization to be applied to synthetic polymers. One year after his discovery, Oenslager
Sulfur trioxide Sulfur trioxide Sulfur trioxide (alternative spelling sulphur trioxide) is the chemical compound with the formula SO, with a relatively narrow liquid range. In the gaseous form, this species is a significant pollutant, being the primary agent in acid rain. It is prepared on an industrial scale as a precursor to sulfuric acid. In perfectly dry apparatus, sulfur trioxide vapor is invisible, and the liquid is transparent. However, it fumes profusely even in a relatively dry atmosphere (it has been used as a smoke agent) due to formation of a sulfuric acid mist. This vapor has no odor but is extremely