This paper describes research methodologies for the investigation of the mechanism of vulcanization and discusses the reactivity of thiuram and dithiocarbamate chemicals. The combined knowledge is subsequently applied to thoroughly review the mechanism and chemistry of both thiuram- and dithiocarbamate-accelerated sulfur vulcanization. Integration of the original mechanistic ideas from the 1960s and the results obtained in the past three decades now have led to a more balanced appraisal of events during vulcanization. Questions have been answered, solutions for old problems are proposed, and remaining fields of endeavor are identified.

The mechanism of cross-link formation in sulfur vulcanization mediated by bis(dimethyldithiocarbamato)zinc(II), ZDMC, has been uncovered, utilizing a combination of Density-Functional calculations and model experiments. These studies have revealed that, in a three-stage process, ZDMC exhibits a unique combination of catalytic activity:  (1) It mediates the reaction between sulfur and rubber. This is achieved by incorporating sulfur atoms in the zinc-dithiocarbamate ring and inducing their insertion into an allylic C−H bond via an ene-like reaction. This ene reaction yields a rubber-bound polythiothiol and is only slightly endothermic, even though an activation energy of ∼90 kJ mol-1 is required. (2) The resulting polythiothiols engage in equilibrated metathesis reactions to yield polysulfides, the initial sulfur cross-links. (3) In a hitherto unsuspected mechanistic step ZDMC has been found to shift the metathesis equilibrium to the side of cross-links by mediating desulfhydration of the polythiothiols, producing sulfides and H2S. Thus, the combined results of theoretical and experimental work have allowed to put forward a novel mechanism for ZDMC-mediated sulfur cross-link formation that successively comprises (a) homogeneous catalysis of thiol formation from sulfur and rubber, (b) an equilibrium between polythiothiol intermediates and cross-links and (c) ZDMC-induced desulfhydration.

Chelate complexes of FeII were investigated with respect to their reactivity against nitric oxide and dioxygen. Through a systematic variation of the structure of the polyaminocarboxylate EDTA, a series of 38 potential chelate ligands were selected for FeII. The nitrosyl complexes were prepared from the FeII chelates with NO gas and examined spectroscopically by UV/Vis and ATR‐IR techniques, and themodynamically by determining the overall binding constants for NO. In addition, the reversibility of NO binding to these FeII chelates and the rate of the competing oxidation by dioxygen were studied qualitatively. Whereas the studied complexes all form more or less stable nitrosyl complexes with a characteristic band pattern in the UV/Vis spectra and only slightly diverging frequencies for the NO stretching vibration in the IR spectra, they differ considerably in the reversibility of NO binding, the overall NO binding constants and the sensitivity towards dioxygen. It was found that an increasing number of donor groups on the chelate ligand causes a stronger coordination to FeII, and increases the tendency of the FeII chelates to transfer electron density from iron to substrates like dioxygen or nitric oxide. This results in an accelerated oxidation of FeII to FeIII by dioxygen and a more pronounced tendency of the corresponding nitrosyl complexes to slowly decompose to FeIII and N2O. In addition, the overall binding constant for NO (KNO), which spans a range from 1·103 to 2·107 M−1, increases in the same direction as a result of the inductive effect of the chelate ligand.

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