Rubbers also known as elastomers, they are high polymers, which have elastic properties in excess of 300%.

Natural Rubber:-

Advantages of vulcanization:-

(i) The tensile strength increase

(ii) Vulcanized rubber has excellent resilience It has better resistance to moisture, oxidation & abrasion

(iii) It is resistance to organic solvents like CCl4, Benzene petrol etc.

(iv) It has only slight thickness

(v) It has low elasticity

Applications

(i) The major application of natural rubber is in the manufacture of tyres.

(ii) In heavy duty tyres, the major portion of the rubber used is natural rubber.

(iii) The tank linings in chemical plants where corrosive chemicals are stored are prepared from rubber.

(iv) To reduce machine vibrations, rubber is used for sandwiching between two metal surfaces.

(v) Foam rubber is used for making cushions’, matrices, padding etc. toys and sports items are manufactured from natural rubber.

(vi) Gutta percha is used for making submarine cables, golf ball covers, tissue or adhesive etc.