Sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber, molded article, and method for producing sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber

Abstract

Provided are a sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber improved in heat resistance, a molded article prepared by using the sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber and a method for producing the sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber. A sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber comprising, as the principal component, a sulfur-modified chloroprene polymer having sulfur atoms in the molecule which is obtained by emulsion polymerization of chloroprene alone or a mixture of chloroprene and one or more other monomers in the presence of sulfur, wherein the content of the sulfur that is bound to the sulfur-modified chloroprene polymer is 0.2 to 0.6 mass % with respect to the total amount of the rubber and the ratio of the amount of the bound sulfur (mass %) to the total amount of the sulfur contained in the entire rubber (mass %) (bound sulfur content/total sulfur content) is 0.28 to 0.5. The sulfur-modified chloroprene rubber according to the present invention can be used favorably for molded articles such as transmission belts and conveyer belts for use in industries in general, antivibration rubbers, air springs for automobiles, hoses and sponges.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.