Sulfur vulcanization had found hundreds of applications for his additive. Thus, the science of accelerators and retarders was born. An accelerator speeds up the cure reaction, while a retarder delays it. A typical retarder is cyclohexylthiophthalimide. In the subsequent century chemists developed other accelerators and ultra-accelerators, which are used in the manufacture of most modern rubber goods. Sulfur vulcanization Sulfur vulcanization or sulfur vulcanisation is a chemical process for converting natural rubber or related polymers into more durable materials by heating them with sulfur or other equivalent curatives or accelerators. Sulfur forms cross-links (bridges) between sections of polymer chain which results in
Polymer blend more than one kind of polymer. A new polymers modification process, based on a simple mechanical mixture of two polymers first appeared when Thomas Hancock got one mixture of natural rubber with gutta-percha. This process generated a new polymer class called "polymer blends". Polymer blends can be broadly divided into three categories: The use of the term polymer alloy for a polymer blend is discouraged, as the former term includes multiphase copolymers but excludes incompatible polymer blends. Examples of miscible polymer blends: Polymer blends can be used as thermoplastic elastomer Polymer blend A polymer blend, or polymer mixture, is a