Coordination cross-linking gadolinium salt/acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber composite: Its preparation, characterization, and functional properties

A novel rubber composite of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) filled with gadolinium salt (GS) particles was prepared for the first time and vulcanized via coordination reactions. The resulting materials exhibit good mechanical properties. Structural analyses indicate that the composite is a kind of elastomers based on coordination cross-linking interactions between the nitrile groups (–CN) of NBR and gadolinium ions. The mechanical properties of vulcanized GS/NBR rubber are altered when the cross-link density is changed in the composites. These materials show good irradiation resistance because of the introduction of GS. POLYM. COMPOS., 34:1013–1019, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers