Some unusual elastomers and experiments on rubberlike elasticity

The most common elasticity experiment for many decades involved mechanically blending a reinforcing filler such as carbon black into natural rubber, cross-linking the elastomer with sulfur, and then characterizing its network structure by stress-strain measurements in simple extension, or by extents of equilibrium swelling. The present review describes interesting and important elaborations of this simple picture. It mentions some unusual features with regard to polymers exhibiting rubberlike elasticity, network structures, types of deformations, fillers and characterization techniques. The goals are to provide an update on recent directions in this area of polymer science, and to encourage more research on some aspects that have been less well explored. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.