Influence of accelerators and curing system composition on the cure characteristics, crosslinks structure and properties of acrylonitrile‐butadiene elastomer

Abstract The goal of this work is to study the influence of the type of vulcanization accelerator and the quantitative composition of the curing system on the cure characteristics, morphology of elastomer network, crosslink density and physico‐chemical properties of acrylonitrile‐butadiene rubber (NBR) composites. Sulfur curing systems are investigated, which consist of various types of accelerators, that is, sulfenamide, guanidine and thiuram, applied in various proportions to sulfur. The type of accelerator and the sulfur/accelerator ratio significantly affect both the cure rate and the structure and number of crosslinks resulting from the vulcanization. The highest cure rate and the lowest content of polysulfidic crosslinks are exhibited by rubber composites with efficient (EV) curing systems due to the highest content of accelerators compared to semi‐efficient (SEV) and conventional (CV) systems. The structure of crosslinks strongly affect tensile properties and hardness of the vulcanizates as well as their solvent resistance, thermal stability and resistance to thermo‐oxidative aging.