IntroductionDamping materials are finding numerous applications in the aircraft, automobile, and machinery industries for both the reduction of unwanted noise and the prevention of vibrational fatigue failure. [1] The viscoelastic properties of polymers make them ideally suited for use as effective damping materials. [2,3] The damping behavior of a polymer is mainly dominated by the viscoelastic transition region between the glassy state and rubbery state (near and above the glass transition temperature, T g ). In this region, polymer chain segments, but not whole polymer chains, can vibrate in phase with an external vibration. However, changes in molecular conformation can not keep up with the imposed vibration, which causes internal friction and energy dissipation. Damping behavior is a reflection of this internal friction. [4] The stronger the internal friction, the higher the loss modulus (E 00 ) or loss tangent (tan d) at the applicable temperature, and the better the damping property. Since real damping products are often used over a broad range of temperature and frequency, polymeric materials are needed with a greater width of the loss modulus or loss tangent peak. Usually, a homopolymer possesses an effective damping region over a temperature range of only about 20-30 8C, which is rather narrow for practical applications, for example, it would be typically 60-80 8C for outdoor use. [5] Summary: Based on the fact that rubber can be chemically modified by sulfur, and sulfur can diffuse into rubber driven by a concentration gradient and chemical reaction, a new approach for the preparation of a polymer with a gradient from rubbery to glassy phase has been developed using the sulfur-vulcanization reaction of rubber. The gradient polymer obtained exhibits a wide transition range spanning over 100 8C with a peak half-width of 69 8C. The mechanism of forming the gradient structure is also discussed.The gradient polymer exhibits a broad tan d width from À60 to 76 8C with the peak half-width spanning about 69 8C, indicating a wide damping temperature range.