n (vulcanization) The chemical reaction, usually accompanying by crosslinking, that induces extensive changes in the physical properties of a rubber or elastomer, brought about by reacting the material with sulfur and an accelerator. The discovery of vulcanization by C. Goodyear in 1839 was the beginning of a practical rubber-products industry. The changes brought about by vulcanizing include decreased plastic flow, reduced surface tackiness, increased moduli and resilience, much grater tensile strength, and considerably reduced solubility. Some thermoplastics, such as polyethylene can be modified to be vulcanizable. The associated crosslinking causes the final product to resist flow and deformation at temperatures above the melting range of the original polymer.
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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
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Gooch, J.W. (2011). Vulcanizing. In: Gooch, J.W. (eds) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Polymers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6247-8_12656
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6247-8_12656
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