ABSTRACT
Anil K. Bhowmick and Bhola Nath Avasthi Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. India
I. INTRODUCTION
Nitrile rubber (NBR) was first commercialized by I.G. Farbindustry, Germany, in 1937, under the trade name of Buna N. Its excellent balance of properties confers it an important position in the elastomer series. Nitrile rubber, a copolymer of butadiene and acrylonitrile, is widely used as an oil-resistant rubber. The acrylonitrile content decides the ultimate properties of the elastomer. In spite of possessing a favorable combination of physical properties, there has been a continuous demand to improve the aging resistance of NBR due to the tougher requirements of industrial and automotive applications.
