Nippon Zeon Company, Ltd.

Kohichi Handa

Tetsu Ohishi

Haruo Ueno

A sulfur-curable acrylic rubber composition is provided which comprises [I] 100 parts of an acrylic rubber resulting from the copolymerization in the presence of a radical initiator of (1) 30 to 89.5% by weight of at least one alkyl acrylate with the alkyl group containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms, (2) 0.5 to 10% by weight of at least one monomer of the general formula ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1 represents a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, and R.sub.2 and R.sub.3, independently from each other, represent an alkyl group containing 1 to 3 carbon atoms, (3) 10 to 60% by weight of at least one alkoxyalkyl acrylate with the alkoxy group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms and the alkylene group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, and 0 to 30% by weight of at least one of monovinyl and monovinylidene unsaturated compounds other than the said compounds; and [II] 1 to 5 parts by weight of a metal compound, and [III] 0.2 to 5 parts by weight, as sulfur, of at least one of sulfur and sulfur-containing organic compounds.

Sulfur-curable acrylic rubber composition

A process for producing a sulfur-curable acrylic rubber is provided which comprises radical-copolymerizing (1) an alkyl acrylate with (2) an alkenyl acrylate or methacrylate, or radical-copolymerizing (1) an alkyl acrylate, (2) an alkenyl acrylate or methacrylate, (3) an alkoxyalkyl acrylate and optionally (4) acrylonitrile. These acrylic rubbers can be cured at a rate as fast as those for curing diene-type rubbers, and the cured products exhibit superior properties without long heat-treatment after curing.

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Kamakura, Japan

Kohichi Handa