| Abstract: | The crosslinked structure formed by the metal coordination bonding provides excellent and new properties for rubber materials. Herein, the crosslinking of acrylonitrile‐butadiene rubber (NBR) is induced by introducing aluminum ammonium sulfate (NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O) particles. The crosslinking behavior, morphology, mechanical properties, and the Akron abrasion resistance of NBR/NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O composites were fully explored. The results show that the three‐dimensional crosslinking structure is held together by metal–ligand coordination bonds between the nitrile group and AI(III). The coordination crosslink density exhibits a considerable increase with the addition of NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O. Thus, the mechanical properties and abrasion resistance of the obtained composites are better than that of NBR/sulfur system. Interestingly, the elongation at break for NBR/NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O composites is over 2000% due to the nature of coordination bonds. The abrasion volume loss decreases to 0.4 cm3 for NBR/NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O composites with 20 phr NH4Al(SO4)2·12H2O particles as compared to 0.75 cm3 for NBR/sulfur system. The obtained NBR composites with facile preparation and excellent mechanical properties make the composites based on metal coordination bonding attractive for practical use. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 879–886 |
