In this work, a straightforward method of vulcanizing acrylate rubber (AR) was explored via the introduction of in situ coordination crosslinking. An inorganic metal salt, copper sulfate (CuSO 4 ), was mechanically mixed with AR and heat pressed to prepare a novel crosslinkable AR/CuSO 4 composite. The determination of the coordination bonding between the ester groups of AR and copper (II) ions was performed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy based on the red shifts of the ester group absorption bands and the disappearance of the coordinated sulfate absorption bands, as well as by electron spin resonance based on the changes in the g-factor of copper (II). The crosslinking procedure of the composite was investigated through dynamic mechanical analysis. In addition, the extent of the crosslinking of the AR/CuSO 4 composites was evaluated by observing the swelling behaviors. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the morphology of the composite. The vulcanizates exhibited improved physical properties with high elongation at break due to exchange reaction between the ester groups of AR and Keywords: acrylate rubber; coordination; polymer composites; vulcanization INTRODUCTION Acrylate rubbers (AR) exhibit the favorable qualities of weatherability, high temperature serviceability and good oil resistance. These qualities make the rubbers useful for under-the-hood automotive applications and outdoor applications. However, because AR is a saturated rubber, it is impossible for it to be vulcanized through traditional sulfur-vulcanizing systems like unsaturated rubbers. A considerable amount of research has been accomplished in the past years to introduce various types of active cure-site monomers into AR chains during the polymerization process. The most common curesite monomers include those containing a labile halogen atom, a carboxyl group, an epoxide moiety, an unsaturated double bond, and a combination of two or more monomers resulting in dual or multiple cure sites, which require different curing systems as shown in Table 1. Despite significant advances in cure technology, all of the current acrylic elastomers require a relatively long cure cycle or must be post-cured.In this work, we aimed to develop a straightforward method to vulcanize AR by introducing coordination-bond crosslinking. Ester carbonyl is capable of coordinating with metal ions, especially in solution systems. Metal complexes with carboxylic esters as ligands have long been in practice. A brief overview of low-molecular-weight organic compound complexes that contain coordinated ester groups was presented by Schreiner et al. 20 Multidentate ligands containing esters and other functional groups have been recently attracting the