is a chemical process patented by chemist Charles Goodyear in 1844 that converts natural rubber (NR) or synthetic rubber polymers (SBR) in a more hardened rubber that retains the rubber's elasticity under temperature changes. This process heats rubber exposing it to sulfur or other curatives, which causes molecular cross-linking, decreasing rubber's tackiness and sensitivity to heat and cold, and the ability to recover the shape after compression in the resulting rubber slab.

The vulcanization process generates long molecular chains with strong crosslinked bonds which account for the physical performant properties of the Latex rubber in all its variations.