The pervasiveness of rubber and plastic products is hard to overstate. They are everywhere, and they have been around for a while. In the case of rubber, it’s been in use since the early 1800s. While rubber and elastomers (from “elastic polymers”) previously had slightly different meanings, today for all practical purposes they are synonymous. Common elastomers include silicone rubber and fluoroelastomers. Elastomer additives are used to create different and more desirable formulations.
What are these materials used for? The applications are diverse, ranging from aerospace to automotive to biomedical, and chances are you probably used a product with one of these materials today, from the grip of a thermoplastic elastomer on your toothbrush to any number of components in a car. Elastomers may be used in the automotive industry for tire manufacturing, in the oil and gas industry for sealing, and even in wetsuits or cycling shorts.