Mechanical,rheological, thermal,and morphological properties of blends based on poly(propylene)/poly(propylene‐co‐1‐octene)/poly(ethylene‐co‐1‐octene)

The effect of addition of propylene copolymer, produced by metallocene catalysts, on the mechanical, rheological, and morphological properties of blends based on poly(propylene) (PP) and ethylene–1‐octene copolymer (EOC) was evaluated. It was observed that the addition of 2 wt % propylene–1‐octene copolymer (POC) improved the impact strength of the EOC/PP blends. The rheological analysis indicated that the addition of propylene copolymer produced materials with improved processability. Thermal and morphological analysis showed that the POC acts as a compatibilizer on the EOC/PP blends. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1690–1695, 2003     

Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Polypropylene and Regenerated Tire-Rubber Blends

Mechanical properties and morphology of blends prepared from polypropylene (PP) and 5–20 wt% of regenerated tire-rubber (RgR) were studied. The samples were prepared in a twin-screw extruder. The addition of maleic anhydride-functionalized polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) was also investigated. Tensile and flexural moduli, tensile strength at break, elongation at break and Izod impact resistance at 23°C were increased by the addition of 15 wt% of regenerated rubber and 5 wt% of PP-g-MAH. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses showed some interaction between PP and RgR and considerable modification of the compatibilized mixture morphology. The fracture surface of the blend with PP-g-MAH showed a better interaction between the PP matrix and the regenerated rubber domains, for all blends. Well-dispersed particles of the rubber in the polypropylene matrix were observed. DSC showed that PP crystallizes on cooling at lower temperatures as the RgR content increases. The decrease in crystallization temperature is more evident for blends with 5 wt% PP-g-MAH.     

Evaluation of polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride and styrene as a compatibilizer for polypropylene/clay nanocomposites

Among modified Poly(propylene)s (PPs) grafted with polar monomers, PP grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) is known to be the most efficient compatibilizer for PP/clay nanocomposites, since it provides well-dispersed nanostructures and yields optimal physical properties of the nanocomposites. One drawback of this material, however, is that it becomes brittle and its viscosity decreases drastically, leading to nanocomposites with low toughness as the graft degree of MAH increases. Therefore, there is a limitation to increasing both stiffness and toughness of PP/clay nanocomposites with PP-g-MAH. In this study, we investigated the performance of a PP grafted with maleic anhydride and styrene (PP-g-MAH-St) as compatibilizers in PP/clay nanocomposites. It was found that the incorporation of styrene as a comonomer prevents molecular weight reduction of the PP main chain upon high loading of a radical initiator for high graft degree of MAH. The compatibilizers (PP-g-MAH-St) thus obtained show good compatibilizing performance in PP/clay nanocomposites. The PP/clay nanocomposites compatibilized by PP-g-MAH-St show both high stiffness and toughness, which is accomplished by using a compatibilizer of higher viscosity compared with PP-g-MAH.     

Effect of octene content in poly(ethylene‐co‐1‐octene) on the properties of poly(propylene)/poly(ethylene‐co‐1‐octene) blends

Ethylene‐octene random copolymer (EOC) is one of the most commonly employed elastomers for PP, and as such its rubber toughening efficiency has been extensively studied. However, most existing studies employ EOC containing an octene comonomer of about 8 mol %. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of EOC octene comonomer content on the morphology and thermal and mechanical properties of PP‐ethylene random copolymer (PP‐CP)/EOC (80/20 wt %/wt %) blends. It was clearly shown that the properties of the blends are significantly affected by the octene content. The rubber particle size of the blends decreased as the octene content in the EOC was increased, which was a consequence of the reduced interfacial tension between PP‐CP and EOC. Impact strength of the blends as a function of octene content displayed a brittle‐ductile transition. The tensile yield strength and modulus of the PP‐CP/EOC blends were decreased by addition of EOC, owing to incorporation of the soft EOC into the hard PP‐CP. The tensile yield strength and modulus of PP‐CP/EOC blends decreased monotonically with the octene content in the EOC. The melting temperature as well as the crystallinity of the PP‐CP phase were not affected significantly by the addition of EOC whereas a notable shift in melting and crystallization temperatures was observed for the EOC phase. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1133–1139, 2007     

Fabrication of polypropylene blends with excellent low‐temperature toughness and balanced toughness‐rigidity by a combination of EPR and SEEPS

To overcome serious rigidity depression of rubber‐toughened plastics and fabricate a rigidity‐toughness balanced thermoplastic, a combination of styrene‐[ethylene‐(ethylene‐propylene)]‐styrene block copolymer (SEEPS) and ethylene‐propylene rubber (EPR) was used to toughen polypropylene. The dynamic mechanical properties, crystallization and melting behavior, and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/EPR/SEEPS blends were studied in detail. The results show that the combination of SEEPS and EPR can achieve the tremendous improvement of low‐temperature toughness without significant strength and rigidity loss. Dynamic mechanical properties and phase morphology results demonstrate that there is a good interfacial strength and increased loss of compound rubber phase comprised of EPR component and EP domain of SEEPS. Compared with PP/EPR binary blends, although neither glass transition temperature (T_g) of the rubber phase nor T_g of PP matrix in PP/EPR/SEEPS blends decreases, the brittle‐tough transition temperature (T_bd) of PP/EPR/SEEPS blends decreases, indicating that the increased interfacial interaction between PP matrix and compound rubber phase is also an effective approach to decrease T_bd of the blends so as to improve low‐temperature toughness. The balance between rigidity and toughness of PP/EPR/SEEPS blends is ascribed to the synergistic effect of EPR and SEEPS on toughening PP. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45714.     

Synergetic toughness and morphology of poly(propylene)/nylon 11/maleated ethylene‐propylene diene copolymer blends

Polypropylene (PP)/nylon 11/maleated ethylene‐propylene‐diene rubber (EPDM‐g‐MAH) ternary polymer blends were prepared via melt blending in a corotating twin‐screw extruder. The effect of nylon 11 and EPDM‐g‐MAH on the phase morphology and mechanical properties was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy observation revealed that there was apparent phase separation for PP/EPDM‐g‐MAH binary blends at the level of 10 wt % maleated elastomer. For the PP/nylon 11/EPDM‐g‐MAH ternary blends, the dispersed phase morphology of the maleated elastomer was hardly affected by the addition of nylon 11, whereas the reduced dispersed phase domains of nylon 11 were observed with the increasing maleated elastomer loading. Furthermore, a core‐shell structure, in which nylon 11 as a rigid core was surrounded by a soft EPDM‐g‐MAH shell, was formed in the case of 10 wt % nylon 11 and higher EPDM‐g‐MAH concentration. In general, the results of mechanical property measurement showed that the ternary blends exhibited inferior tensile strength in comparison with the PP matrix, but superior toughness. Especially low‐temperature impact strength was obtained. The toughening mechanism was discussed with reference to the phase morphology. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Structural characterization of reactor blends of polypropylene and ethylene‐propylene rubber

Blends of isotactic polypropylene (PP), ethylene‐propylene rubber copolymer (EPR), and ethylene‐propylene crystalline copolymer (EPC) can be produced through in situ polymerization processes directly in the reactor and blends with different structure and composition can be obtained. In this work we studied the structure of five reactor‐made blends of PP, EPR, and EPC produced by a Ziegler‐Natta catalyst system. The composition of EPR was related to the ratio between ethylene and propylene used in the copolymerization step. The ethylene content in the EPR was in the range of 50–70 mol %. The crystallization behavior of PP and EPC in the blends was influenced by the presence of the rubber, and some specific interactions between the components could be established. By preparative temperature rising elution fractionation (P‐TREF) analysis, the isolation and characterization of crystalline EPC fractions were made. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2155–2162, 2004     

Studies on the rheological,phase morphologic,thermal and mechanical properties of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/ethylene propylene diene monomer copolymer grafted with maleic anhydride/metallocene polyethylene blends

The rheological, phase morphologic, thermal and mechanical properties of poly (trimethylene terephthalate)/metallocene polyethylene (PTT/mPE) blends in the presence of ethylene propylene diene monomer copolymer grafted with maleic anhydride (EPDM-g-MAH) as compatibilizer are studied by means of a capillary rheometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results suggest that the compatibility of PTT/mPE blends is improved greatly after the addition of a compatibilizer. The radius of the dispersed phase in the system decreases greatly when the compatibilizer is added into the blend. When the amount of compatibilizer exceeds 8 wt-%, the size of dispersed phase becomes larger again. This phenomena could be attributed to the higher viscosity of the EPDM-g-MAH phase, which is dispersed more difficulty in the PTT phase of lower viscosity, thus the mixing efficiency is apparently decreased during the melt blending process. Moreover, the melt viscosity of the blend reaches the maximal value in case of 4 wt-% compatibilizer content, above which it would decrease again. This result is associated with the generation of more and bigger dispersed phase inside the bulk phase, thus the grafting efficiency at the interface is decreased, which could result in lower viscosity. The DSC results suggest that the mPE component shows a nucleating effect, and could increase the overall degree and rate of PTT crystallization, while the addition of a compatibilizer might slightly diminish these effects. In addition, the blend with 4 wt-% compatibilizer shows the best thermal stability. Furthermore, the Izod impact strength and the tensile strength at room temperature of the blend are also markedly improved by the addition of a 4–8 wt-% compatibilizer.     

Effect of blend ratio on bulk properties and matrix-fibril morphology of polypropylene/nylon 6 polyblend fibers

Ternary blends of polypropylene (PP), nylon 6 (N6) and polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP/N6/PP-g-MAH) as compatibilizer with up to 50 wt% of N6 were investigated. PP-g-MAH content was varied from 2.5 to 10%. Blends of the two polymers PP/N6 (80/20) without the compatibilizer were also prepared using an internal batch mixer and studied. The ternary blends showed different rheological properties at low and high shear rates. The difference depended on the amount of N6 dispersed phase. Co-continuous morphology was observed for the blend containing 50% N6. This blend also exhibited higher viscosity at low shear rate and lower viscosity at high shear rates than the value calculated by the simple rule of mixture. At higher shear rates, viscosity was lower than that given by the rule of mixture for all blend ratios. An increase in viscosity was observed in the 80/20 PP/N6 blend after the concentration of the interfacial agent (PP-g-MAH) was increased. Polyblends containing up to 30% N6 could be successfully melt spun into fibers. DSC results showed that dispersed and matrix phases in the fiber maintained crystallinity comparable to or better than the corresponding values found in the neat fibers. The dispersed phase was found to contain fibrils. By using SEM and LSCM analyses we were able to show that the N6 droplets coalesced during melt spinning which led to the development of fibrillar morphology.     

Influence of compatibilizer on mechanical,morphological and rheological properties of PP/ABS blends

The objective of this work was to study the compatibilizer effect on polypropylene (PP) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) blends. The blends were coextruded and injection molded in various ratios of ABS with and without compatibilizers. Universal testing machine was employed to analyze the tensile properties of basic PP/ABS binary blends. From the mechanical testing, the impact and tensile properties of PP/ABS blend were optimized at 80/20 weight ratio. Various compatibilizers such as PP-g-MAH, SEBS-g-MAH and ethylene α-olefin copolymer were used and their comparative performance on binary blend was enumerated. Hybrid compatibilization effect was also studied and reported. However, the addition of compatibilizers showed the maximum increase in impact strength attributed to rubber toughening effect of ABS. The effect of compatibilizers on morphological properties was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM micrographs depicted the more efficient dispersion of ABS particles in PP matrix with the addition of compatibilizers. Further, interparticle distance analysis was carried out to evaluate the rubber toughening effect. The ABS droplet size in compatibilized PP/ABS blend was brought to minimum of 3.2 μm from 9.9 μm with the addition of compatibilizers. The melt rheology of PP/ABS blend systems was investigated through parallel plate arrangement in frequency sweep. Linear viscoelastic properties like storage (G′) and loss (G″) modulus and complex viscosity (η*) have been reported with reference to the virgin materials. It is understood that the combination of compatibilizers (hybrid compatibilizer) had a considerable effect on the overall blend properties.     

Preparation and characterization of high MFR polypropylene and polypropylene/poly(ethylene‐co‐propylene) in‐reactor alloys

In this work, high melt flow rate (MFR) polypropylene (HF‐PP) and polypropylene/poly(ethylene‐co‐propylene) in‐reactor alloys (HF‐PP/EPR) with MFR ≈ 30 g/10 min were synthesized by spherical MgCl₂‐supported Ziegler–Natta catalyst with cyclohexylmethyldimethoxysilane (CHMDMS) or dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane (DCPDMS) as external donor (De). The effects of De on polymerization activity, chain structure, mechanical properties, and phase morphology of HF‐PP and HF‐PP/EPR were studied. Adding CHMDMS caused more sensitive change of the polymers MFR with H₂ than DCPDMS, and produced PP/EPR alloys containing more random ethylene‐propylene copolymer (r‐EP) and segmented ethylene‐propylene copolymer (s‐EP). CHMDMS also caused formation of s‐EP with higher level of blockiness than DCPDMS. HF‐PP/EPR alloy prepared in the presence of DCPDMS exhibited higher flexural properties but lower impact strength than that prepared with CHMDMS. Toughening efficiency of the rubber phase was nearly the same in the alloys prepared using CHMDMS or DCPDMS as De, but stiffness of the alloy can be improved by using DCPDMS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 42984.     

Morphology,crystalline features,and tensile properties of syndiotactic polypropylene blends

Syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) was modified with ethylene–octene copolymer (EOC) and ethylene–propylene rubber (EPR), with test samples prepared in a twin‐screw extruder and then injection‐molded. The phase morphology, rheology, and thermal and tensile properties of the modified sPP were investigated. Atomic force microscopy studies showed how the phase morphology of the sPP blends with elastomers depended on the blend compositions, and the results compared with the storage modulus at low frequency. EOC and EPR were dispersed phase in an sPP matrix with spherical shapes when the dispersed content was 20 wt % or lower. The phase cocontinuity started around 40 wt % EOC for the sPP–EOC blends and around 60 wt % EPR for the sPP–EPR. The dispersed phase then formed more complex elongated shapes. The rheological and thermal properties were affected by the sPP–elastomer interphase. EOC promoted the crystallization of sPP; this increased the crystallization temperature and rate. In contrast, EPR had the opposite effect on the crystallization behavior, and the results indicate that sPP and EPR were not completely separated. The tensile properties were studied from ?20 to 100 °C. We found that the tensile properties at low temperature could be improved without a loss in high‐temperature properties. In the particular case of 20 wt % EOC, both the strain at yield and strain at break of the sPP–EOC blend were improved at both ?20 and 100 °C. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44611.     

Evaluation of toughening mechanisms of polypropylene/ethylene–octene copolymer/maleic anhydride‐grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐octene)/clay nanocomposite

The toughness of a polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐octene copolymer (EOC)/maleic anhydride‐grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐octene) (EOC‐g‐MA)/clay nanocomposite and blends of PP/EOC and PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA was investigated using Charpy impact and single‐edge‐notch tensile (SENT) tests. In order to understand the toughening mechanisms, impact fracture surfaces and damage zones of single‐edge‐notch samples were studied with scanning electron microscopy and transmission optical microscopy, respectively. It was observed that the addition of EOC‐g‐MA to PP/EOC blend led to improvements in both impact strength and fracture energy of SENT tests because of the enhanced compatibility of the blend, which resulted from reduced EOC particle size and improved interfacial adhesion, and the decreased crystallinity of PP. The incorporation of clay to PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA blend caused a further increase of the toughness, owing to the greater decrease in the size of elastomer particles, to the presence of clay tactoids inside the elastomer phase and presumably to debonding of clay layers during the low‐speed SENT tests. The results of microscopic observations showed that the main toughening mechanism in PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA blend and PP/EOC/EOC‐g‐MA/clay nanocomposite is crazing. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Phase morphology and melt rheological behavior of uncrosslinked and dynamically crosslinked polyolefin blends: role of macromolecular structure

Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) based on polypropylene (PP) with ethylene–octene copolymer (EOC) and ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) have been prepared by co-agent-assisted peroxide crosslinking system. The study was pursued to explore the influence of two dissimilar polyolefin polymers having different molecular architecture on the state and mode of dispersion of the blend components and their influence on melt rheological properties. The effects of dynamic crosslinking of the PP/EOC and PP/EPDM have been compared with special reference to the concentration of crosslinking agent and ratio of blend components. Morphological analyses show that, irrespective of blend ratio, dynamic vulcanization exhibits a dispersed phase morphology with crosslinked EOC or EPDM particles in the continuous PP matrix. It was found that viscosity ratio plays a crucial role in determining the state and mode of dispersion of blend components in the uncrosslinked system. The lower viscosity and torque values of uncrosslinked and dynamically crosslinked blends of PP/EOC in the melt state indicates that they exhibit better processing characteristics when compared to corresponding PP/EPDM blends.     

Crystallization,melting behavior,and morphology of BPP/HDPE blend

The crystallization, melting behavior, and morphology of a low ethylene content block propylene–ethylene copolymer (BPP) and a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) blend were studied. It was found that the existence of ethylene–propylene rubber (EPR) in BPP has more influence on the crystallization of HDPE than on that of PP. This leads to the decreasing of the melting temperature of the HDPE component in the blends. It is suggested that the EPR component in BPP shifted to the HDPE component during the blending process. The crystallinity of the HDPE phase in the blends decreased with increasing BPP content. The morphology of these blends was studied by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and SEM. For a BPP-rich blend, it was observed that the HDPE phase formed particles dispersed in the PP matrix. The amorphous EPR chains may penetrate into HDPE particles to form a transition layer. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 69: 2469–2475, 1998     

Mechanical property and morphology comparison between the two blends poly(propylene)/ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer elastomer and poly(propylene)/maleic anhydride‐g‐ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer

The comparison of the mechanical properties between poly(propylene)/ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer elastomer (PP/EPDM) and poly(propylene)/maleic anhydride‐g‐ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer [PP/MEPDM (MAH‐g‐EPDM)] showed that the latter blend has noticeably higher Izod impact strength but lower Young's modulus than the former one. Phase morphology of the two blends was examined by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, indicating that the miscibility of PP/MEPDM was inferior to PP/EPDM. The poor miscibility of PP/MEPDM degrades the nucleation effectiveness of the elastomer on PP. The observations of the impact fracture mode of the two blends and the dispersion state of the elastomers, determined by scanning electron microscopy, showed that PP/EPDM fractured in a brittle mode, whereas PP/MEPDM in a ductile one, and that a finer dispersion of MEPDM was found in the blend PP/MEPDM. These observations indicate that the difference in the dispersion state of elastomer between PP/EPDM and PP/MEPDM results in different fracture modes, and thereby affects the toughness of the two blends. The finer dispersion of MEPDM in the blend of PP/MEPDM was attributed to the part cross‐linking of MEPDM resulting from the grafting reaction of EPDM with maleic anhydride (MAH) in the presence of dicumyl peroxide (DCP). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 2486–2491, 2002     

EPDM/PP共混型热塑性硫化胶的增容研究

研究了酚醛树脂接枝改性聚丙烯(PP-g-MP)和马来酸酐接枝改性茂金属乙烯-辛烯共聚物(EOC-g-MAH)对动态硫化EPDM/PP共混型热塑性硫化橡胶(TPV)的增容作用,探讨了增容剂对TPV的物理机械性能、形态结构和流变性能的影响。结果表明,PP-g-MP能够提高EPDM/PPTPV的100%定伸应力和拉伸强度,但扯断伸长率下降;适量的EOC-g-MAH能够提高EPDM/PPTPV的拉伸强度和扯断伸长率,但100%定伸应力下降。接枝率越高,TPV的拉伸强度和扯断伸长率也越高。通过相差显微镜分析表明,加入增容剂有助于橡胶粒子的更精细、更均匀地分散,EOC-g-MAH的增容作用更佳。加入EOC-g-MAH后TPV的切敏性更显著。     

Study on compatibilization of polypropylene-liquid crystalline polymer blends

The mechanical properties, melt rheology, and morphology of binary blends comprised of two polypropylene (PP) grades and two liquid crystalline polymers (LCP) have been studied. Compatibilization with polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) has been attempted. A moderate increase in the tensile moduli and no enhancements in tensile strength have been revealed. Those findings have been attributed to the morphology of the blends, which is predominantly of the disperse mode. LCP fibers responsible for mechanical reinforcement were only exceptionally evidenced. Discussion of PP-LCP interfacial characteristics with respect to mechanical properties-morphology interrelations allowed evaluation of the compatibilizing efficiency of PP-g-MAH. Factors important for successful reinforcement of PP with LCP have been specified. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 969–980, 1997     

Partial replacement of EPR by GTR in highly flowable PP/EPR blends: Effects on morphology and mechanical properties

This research analyzes the effect of ground tire rubber (GTR) and a novel metallocene‐based ethylene–propylene copolymer (EPR), with high propylene content, on the morphology and mechanical behavior of ternary polymer blends based on a highly flowable polypropylene homopolymer (PP). The PP/EPR blends morphology, with very small domains of EPR dispersed in the PP matrix, indicates a good compatibility among these materials, which leads to a significant improvement on elongation at break and impact strength. The incorporation of EPR on the rubber phase of thermoplastic elastomeric blends (TPE) based on GTR and PP (TPE^GTR) has a positive effect on their mechanical performance, attributed to the toughness enhancement of the PP matrix and to the establishment of shell‐core morphology between the rubber phases. The mechanical properties of the ternary blends reveal that TPE^GTR blends allow the upcycling of this GTR material by injection molding technologies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42011.     

Influence of the degree of grafting on the morphology and mechanical properties of blends of poly(butylene terephthalate) and glycidyl methacrylate grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐propylene) (EPR)

Poly(ethylene‐co‐propylene) (EPR) was functionalized to varying degrees with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) by melt grafting processes. The EPR‐graft‐GMA elastomers were used to toughen poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT). Results showed that the grafting degree strongly influenced the morphology and mechanical properties of PBT/EPR‐graft‐GMA blends. Compatibilization reactions between the carboxyl and/or hydroxyl of PBT and epoxy groups of EPR‐graft‐GMA induced smaller dispersed phase sizes and uniform dispersed phase distributions. However, higher degrees of grafting (>1.3) and dispersed phase contents (>10 wt%) led to higher viscosities and severe crosslinking reactions in PBT/EPR‐graft‐GMA blends, resulting in larger dispersed domains of PBT blends. Consistent with the change in morphology, the impact strength of the PBT blends increased with the increase in EPR‐graft‐GMA degrees of grafting for the same dispersion phase content when the degree of grafting was below 1.8. However, PBT/EPR‐graft‐GMA1.8 displayed much lower impact strength in the ductile region than a comparable PBT/EPR‐graft‐GMA1.3 blend (1.3 indicates degree of grafting). Morphology and mechanical results showed that EPR‐graft‐GMA 1.3 was more suitable in improving the toughness of PBT. SEM results showed that the shear yielding properties of the PBT matrix and cavitation of rubber particles were major toughening mechanisms. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry