Nitrile is a co-polymer of butadiene and acrylo-nitrile. The nitrile that is used in gloves has a relatively high acrylo content, making it a material that is extremely resistant to petroleum-based oils and hydrocarbon fuels. Acrylonitrile is produced in volume by a process called ammoxidation that uses the oxidation of propylene in the presence of ammonia and a catalyst - the catalyst can vary the properties of the final product. Nitrile is generally much more resistant to puncture than latex is.
