Natural Rubber:
Rubber is an example of an elastomer type polymer, where the polymer has the ability to return to its original shape after being stretched or deformed. The rubber polymer is coiled when in the resting state. The elastic properties arise from the its ability to stretch the chains apart, but when the tension is released the chains snap back to the original position.
Natural rubber is an addition polymer that is obtained as a milky white fluid known as latex from a tropical rubber tree. Natural rubber is from the monomer isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene). Since isoprene has two double bonds, it still retains one of them after the polymerization reaction. Natural rubber has the cis configuration for the methyl groups.
Charles Goodyear accidentally discovered that by mixing sulfur and rubber, the properties of the rubber improved in being tougher, resistant to heat and cold, and increased in elasticity. This process was later called vulcanization after the Roman god of fire. Vulcanization causes shorter chains to cross link through the sulfur to longer chains.
The development of vulcanized rubber for automobile tires greatly aided this industry.
Link to Polyisoprene - Natural Rubber - with Chime molecule - Macrogalleria at U. Southern Mississippi
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