Toughness improvement of poly(lactic acid) with poly(vinyl propionate)-grafted natural rubber

Natural rubber (NR) grafted with poly(vinyl propionate) (NR-g-PVP) was prepared by emulsion polymerization. The monomer content was set at 5, 10, 20, and 30 wt%. The chemical structure of NR-g-PVP was confirmed by ¹H-NMR and FTIR techniques. The grafting parameters of purified NR-g-PVP were evaluated. Binary (PLA/NR and PLA/NR-g-PVP) and ternary (PLA/NR/NR-g-PVP) blends were prepared by melt blending using a twin-screw extruder. The percentage of grafted PVP on NR affected morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of the blends. In binary blends, 5% grafting showed the greatest improvement of toughness and ductility with PLA, whereas there was no improvement in the mechanical properties of PLA/NR blend from using NR-g-PVP as a compatibilizer. The mechanical properties of the blends are related to mutual compatibility of the components. Good interfacial adhesion and proper particle size of NR were the key factors contributing to mechanical properties.     

Novel thermoplastic natural rubber based on thermoplastic polyurethane blends: influence of modified natural rubbers on properties of the blends

Three different forms of natural rubber: maleated natural rubber (MNR), epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) and natural rubber-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) (NR-g-PMMA) were prepared. Degree of functional groups in rubber molecules was quantified using the integrated peak areas of ¹H NMR. It was found that the modified rubbers with similar level of functionality had been successfully prepared. Thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) based on blending of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and various forms of rubber were then prepared using melt blending method. The properties of the blends were studied and compared together in relation to different types of natural rubbers prepared (i.e., unmodified NR, MNR, ENR and NR-g-PMMA). It was found that the blends with modified NR exhibited superior stiffness, entropy effect and damping factor compared to other blends with unmodified NR. This is attributed to the chemical interaction between the functional groups of modified NR molecules and polar functional groups in TPU molecules which facilitated higher interfacial adhesion between both phases. The chemical interaction was verified by ATR-FTIR and TSSR techniques. It was also found that the MNR/TPU blend showed the highest tensile modulus, mechanical and elastic properties with smallest and finer grain dispersion of co-continuous phase compared to ENR/TPU, NR-g-PMMA/TPU and unmodified NR/TPU blends, respectively. This might be due to higher chemical interactions between MNR and TPU phases. Furthermore, the incorporation of rubber did reduce hardness (i.e., <60 Shore A) with improvement of elasticity of the blends compared with the original TPU (i.e., ~85 Shore A).     

A study about the structure of vulcanized natural rubber/styrene butadiene rubber blends and the glass transition behavior

A study of the thermal behavior of cured elastomeric blends of natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) prepared by solution blending in toluene is presented. Binary blends with different compositions of NR/SBR were produced using a conventional cure system based on sulfur and TBBS (n-t-butyl-2-benzothiazole sulfonamide as accelerator. The compounds were vulcanized at 433 K up to an optimum time of cure determined by rheometric tests. From swelling tests, the crosslink densities of the compounds were obtained and compared with those obtained in similar blends prepared by mechanical mixing. The results were analyzed in terms of the disentangling of the chain structures of the SBR and NR phases and the achieved cure state of the blend. Using differential scanning calorimetry, the glass transition temperature T_g of each blend was measured. In most compounds, the value of T_g corresponding to each phase of the blend was determined, but in some blends a single value of T_g was obtained. The variation of T_g with the composition and cure level in each phase was analyzed. On the other hand, a physical mixture of two equal parts of NR and SBR vulcanized was measured and the results were compared to those of the NR50/SBR50 cured blend. Besides, to analyze the influence of the network structure, pure NR and SBR unvulcanized samples were measured. On the basis of all the obtained results, the influence of the interphase formed in the blend between SBR and NR phases is discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Novel natural rubber-g-N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)maleimide: synthesis and its preliminary blending products with polypropylene

Graft copolymer of natural rubber and N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)maleimide (i.e., NR-g-HPM) was synthesized. It was found that the grafting yield increased upon increasing the grafting temperature and the highest grafted HPM content was obtained at 200 °C. Furthermore, increases in concentration of HPM led to drop in grafted HPM. Therefore, an optimum grafting temperature and dose of HPM were found to be 200 °C and 2 phr, respectively. Dynamically cured 60/40 NR-g-HPM/PP blends with various loading levels of HPM in graft copolymerization were then achieved by dynamic vulcanization. It was found that the blend with 2 phr of HPM exhibited the highest tensile strength, elongation-at-break, mixing torque during dynamic vulcanization, storage modulus and complex viscosity and the lowest tension set (i.e., the highest elasticity). This was attributed to the highest grafted HPM which created greater possibility to form linkage between NR-g-HPM and the phenolic modified PP compatibilizer molecules which promoted easier interactions between the blend components. TGA analysis found that the NR-g-HPM/PP blends exhibited two stages of weight loss while the pure PP exhibited a single stage. Furthermore, the NR-g-HPM/PP blend exhibited higher degradation temperature than that of the unmodified NR/PP blend which was the confirmation of higher heat resistance of NR-g-HPM.     

Quantitative characterization of interfaces in rubber–rubber blends by means of modulated‐temperature DSC

Rubber–rubber blends are used widely in industry, for example, in tire manufacture. It is often difficult to characterize interfaces in such rubber–rubber blends quantitatively because of the similarity in the chemical structure of the component rubbers. Here, a new method was suggested for the measurement of the weight fraction of the interface in rubber–rubber blends using modulated‐temperature differential scanning calorimetry (M‐TDSC). Quantitative analysis using the differential of the heat capacity, dCp/dT, versus the temperature signal from M‐TDSC allows the weight fraction of the interface to be calculated. As examples, polybutadiene rubber (BR)–natural rubber (NR), BR–styrene‐co‐butadiene rubber (SBR), SBR–NR, and nitrile rubber (NBR)–NR blend systems were analyzed. The interfacial content in these blends was obtained. SBR is partially miscible with BR. The cis‐structure content in BR has an obvious effect on the extent of mixing in the SBR–BR blends. With increasing styrene content in the SBR in the SBR–BR blends, the interface content decreases. NR is partially miscible with both BR and SBR. The NBR used in this research is essentially immiscible with NR. The maximum amount of interface was found to be at the 50:50 blend composition in BR–NR, SBR–BR, and SBR–NR systems. Quantitative analysis of interfaces in these blend systems is reported for the first time. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 76: 1791–1798, 2000     

Studies on polymer blends: Blending methods for natural rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber

The relations between the properties and the blend ratios of natural rubber (NR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) blends were studied in comparison with four blending methods. The relations between the properties of unvulcanized and vulcanized blends and the blend ratios of blends prepared by means of solution blending, latex blending, roll blending, and Banbury mixer blending were studied. In practice, such rubber blending methods as roll blending are more effective for obtaining uniform blends than Banbury mixer blending the latter. In roll blending, it is more effective to blend NR and SBR by way of a master-batch in which the ingredients are compounded beforehand than to blend raw rubber. In solution and latex blending, very uniform blends are easily obtained. It was found, however, that the properties of NR/SBR blends prepared carefully showed a direct relation to their blend ratios, regardless of blending method used.     

Styrene–butadiene rubber/natural rubber blends: Morphology,transport behavior,and dynamic mechanical and mechanical properties

Blends of styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) and natural rubber (NR) were prepared and their morphology, transport behavior, and dynamic mechanical and mechanical properties were studied. The transport behavior of SBR/NR blends was examined in an atmosphere of n‐alkanes in the temperature range of 25–60°C. Transport parameters such as diffusivity, sorptivity, and permeability were estimated. Network characterization was done using phantom and affine models. The effect of the blend ratio on the dynamic mechanical properties of SBR/NR blends was investigated at different temperatures. The storage modulus of the blend decreased with increase of the temperature. Attempts were made to correlate the properties with the morphology of the blend. To understand the stability of the membranes, mechanical testing was carried out for unswollen, swollen, and deswollen samples. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 1280–1303, 2000     

Effect of extruder type on the properties and morphology of reactive blends based on polyamides

The morphology and mechanical properties of polyamide-based blends prepared in single and corotating twin-screw extruders were compared using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Reactive polyamide blends with SEBS-g-MA (a maleated styrenic triblock copolymer with ethylene–butvlene midblocks), EPR-g-MA (a maleated ethylene/propylene rubber), and ABS were selected for the purpose of this investigation. For blends of SEBS-g-MA with difunctional (nylon x,y) polyamides (e.g., nylon 6,6; nylon 12,12), the twin-screw extruder was more effective in producing a finer dispersion of the rubber phase, which resulted in a significant lowering of the ductile–brittle transition temperature in case of the nylon 6,6 blend. On the other hand, blends of SEBS-g-MA with the mono-functional nylon 6 material led to rubber particles that were too small for toughening for both extruder types employed in this work. For nylon 6/EPR-g-MA blends, the single-screw extruder led to blends with excellent low-temperature impact properties for both single-step and masterbatch mixing techniques, whereas nylon 6/EPR-g-MA blends prepared in a single-step operation in the twin-screw extruder were brittle under ambient conditions. For difunctional polyamide blends with ABS (compatibilized with an imidized acrylic polymer), the morphology and mechanical properties were found to be independent of the extruder type employed for processing. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of PE-g-MA-Compatibilizer on the Morphology and Mechanical Properties of 70/30 HDPE/ENR Blends

The effects of PE-g-MA as a compatibilizer in binary blends of 70/30 high-density polyethylene/epoxidized natural rubber (HDPE/ENR) have been investigated by means of mechanical analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The special emphasis was given to the role of PE-g-MA in inducing interactions between HDPE and ENR. It has been observed that increasing the amount of PE-g-MA in the blend increases the tensile strength, elongation at break, and impact strength. It is believed that the degree of cross-link increased, which led to improve the interaction between the HDPE and ENR. The optimum stress values are shown in the blend containing 6% PE-g-MA. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of the samples also indicated that the addition of compatibilizer decreases the domain size of the dispersed phase. Well-dispersed plastic particles in a rubber matrix were strongly indicated in these samples. The results obtained reveal that the addition of PE-g-MA in HDPE/ENR blend led to an increase in the homogeneity of the blends.     

Effect of fillers on morphological properties in NR/SBR blends for OTR tyres

Abstract

The blends of styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and natural rubber (NR) are prepared using a two-roll mixing mill in the presence of different types of carbon blacks as reinforcing filler. The effects of fillers on cure characteristics and thermal, dynamic–mechanical, morphological properties of the blends are studied. The ISAF N231 type of carbon black shows a significant effect on tensile, tear and modulus properties by reacting at the interface between SBR/NR matrixes. The dynamic characteristics and storage modulus of SBR/NR with SAF N110 and SRF N774 types of carbon black show distinct characteristics in respect to all other blends in this system. The thermal stability of the rubber vulcanizates containing SAF N110 and SRF N774 types of carbon blacks is higher than other blend types. With the increasing percentage of SBR to NR, the thermal stability of the blend is increased. However, the heat buildup of the blends increases with the increase in SBR percentage.     

Effect of silanized silica nanofiller on tack and green strength of selected filled rubbers

BACKGROUND: Tack and green strength of filled and gum (unfilled) natural rubber (NR), poly(styrene‐co‐butadiene) rubber (SBR), polybutadiene rubber (BR) and (SBR‐BR) blend with different loadings of reinforcement agent, silanized silica nanofiller (Coupsil 8113), were studied and the results compared and discussed. RESULTS: It was found that silica was fully dispersed in rubber matrix after 13 min of mixing. In addition, with some exceptions for NR and (SBR‐BR) blend, filler loading decreased the tack strength of the studied filled rubbers. Green strength and Mooney viscosity increased with filler loading for all studied filled rubbers but with different rates and amounts. The optimum filler loadings for NR and (SBR‐BR) filled blend were 30 and 10 phr, respectively. Tacks of NR filled rubbers were much higher than those of synthetic filled rubbers. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that filler loading alters substantially the tack and green strength of the rubbers under investigation. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Kinetics of the phase selective localization of silica in rubber blends

The Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy on the rubber‐filler gel has been used as a tool for the quantitative characterization of the phase selective silica localization in styrene butadiene rubber (SBR)/natural rubber (NR) blends. The so‐called rubber‐layer L was introduced to describe the selective wetting behavior of the rubber phases to the filler. SBR/NR blends filled with silica were the focus of the experimental investigation. NR shows a higher wetting rate than SBR. Silane addition does not affect the wetting of NR but slowdowns the wetting of SBR. With increasing chamber temperature the value of the rubber‐layer L of all mixtures increases owing to the different thermal activated rubber‐filler bonding processes. Using the wetting concept the kinetics of silica localization in the phases of heterogeneous rubber blends was characterized. Because of the higher wetting rate of the NR component, in the first stage of mixing of NR/SBR blends more silica is found in the NR phase than in the SBR phase. In the next stage, silica is transferred from the NR phase to the SBR phase until the loosely bonded components of NR rubber‐layer are fully replaced by SBR molecules. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1701–1711, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Homogeneous Styrene Butadiene/Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber Blends

The graft copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) onto butadiene rubber (BR) was carried out in toluene at 80°C, using dibenzoyl-peroxide (BPO) as initiator. The synthesized poly acrylonitrile-grafted-butadiene rubber (AN-g-BR) was characterized by N% elemental analysis and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Styrene butadiene rubber/acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (SBR/NBR) blends were prepared with different blend ratios in presence and absence of AN-g-BR, where the homogeneity of such blends were examined with intrinsic viscosity (η) measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The scanning electron micrographs illustrate disappearance of the macro-scale phase separation of SBR/NBR rubber blend as a result of the incorporation of AN-g-BR into that blend. Viscosity measurements confirm homogeneity of that blend. Differential Scanning Calorimetry traces exhibit shifts in glass transition temperatures (T _g's) of SBR and NBR in their blend, indicating some degree of homogeneity. Physico-mechanical properties of the rubber blend vulcanizates with different blend ratios, in presence and absence of AN-g-BR, were investigated before and after accelerated thermal aging. The SBR/NBR (25/75) homogeneous blend possessed the best physico-mechanical properties after thermal aging, together with the best swelling behavior in motor oil. The physico-mechanical properties of SBR/NBR (25/75) filled blend with different types of inorganic fillers during thermal aging were studied.     

Influence of rubber composition on change of crosslink density of rubber vulcanizates with EV cure system by thermal aging

Variation of the crosslink density of a rubber vulcanizate depending on the rubber composition after the thermal aging was studied with single rubber, biblend, and triblend vulcanizates of natural rubber (NR), butadiene rubber (BR), and styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR). The efficient vulcanization (EV) system was employed to minimize the influence of free sulfur in the vulcanizate on the change of the crosslink density. Thermal aging was performed at 40, 60, and 80°C for 20 days with 5‐day intervals. The crosslink densities of the vulcanizates after the thermal aging increase. For the single rubber vulcanizates, variation of the crosslink density by the thermal aging has the order: SBR > BR > NR. For the biblend vulcanizates, variations of the crosslink densities of the NR/SBR and SBR/BR blends are larger than that of NR/BR blend. Variation of the crosslink density of the vulcanizate increases by increasing the SBR content in the vulcanizate. Variation of the crosslink density of the rubber vulcanizate depending on the rubber composition was explained by miscibility of the blends, combination reaction of the pendent groups, and mobility of the pendent group. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 1378–1384, 2000     

Dynamic mechanical properties and morphology of polypropylene/maleated polypropylene blends

The dynamic mechanical properties of both homopolypropylene (PPVC)/Maleated Poly-propylene (PP-g-MA) and ethylene-propylene block copolymer (PPSC)/Maleated Poly-propylene (PP-g-MA) blends have been studied by using a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (PL-DMTA MKII) over a wide temperature range, covering a frequency zone from 0.3 to 30 Hz. With increasing content of PP-g-MA, α relaxation of both blends gradually shift to a lower temperature and the apparent activation energy ΔE_α increases. In PPVC/PP-g-MA blends, β relaxation shifts to a higher temperature as the content of PP-g-MA increases from 0 to 20 wt % and then change unobviously for further varying content of PP-g-MA from 20 to 35 wt %. On the contrary, in the PPSC/PP-g-MA blends β₁ relaxation, the apparent activation energy ΔE_β1 and β₂ relaxation are almost unchanged with blend composition, while ΔE_β2 increases with an increase of PP-g-MA content. In the composition range studied, storage modulus É value for PPSC/PP-g-MA blends decreases progressively between β₂ and α relaxation with increasing temperature, but in the region the increment for PPVC/PP-g-MA blends is independent of temperature. The flexural properties of PPVC/PP-g-MA blend show more obvious improvement on PP than one of PPSC/PP-g-MA blends. Scanning electron micrographs of fracture surfaces of the blends clearly demonstrate two-phase morphology, viz. the discrete particles homogeneously disperse in the continous phase, the main difference in the morphology between both blends is that the interaction between the particles and the continuous phase is stronger for for PPVC/PP-g-MA than for PPSC/PP-g-MA blend. By the correlation of the morphology with dynamic and mechanical properties of the blends, the variation of the relaxation behavior and mechanical properties with the componenet structure, blend composition, vibration frequency, and as well as the features observed in these variation are reasonably interpreted. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of rubber curing ingredients and phenolic-resin on mechanical,thermal, and morphological characteristics of rubber/phenolic-resin blends

This article examines the physical and mechanical characteristics of mixtures of two different synthetic rubbers, namely styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and nitril-butadiene rubber (NBR), with novolac type phenolic-resin (PH). According to Taguchi experimental design method, it is shown that the addition of PH increases the crosslinking density of rubber phase probably due to its curative effects. Thermal analysis of the blends indicates that, contrary to NBR/PH blend, thermal stability of SBR/PH blend is dependent on sulfur content due to predominant polysulfidic crosslinks formed in SBR. Slight shift in glass-transition temperature (T_g) of pure SBR and NBR vulcanizates by the addition of PH suggests that both SBR/PH and NBR/PH are incompatible blends with a partially soluble PH in the rubber phase. Two-phase morphology of the mixtures is also evidenced by scanning electron microscopy. Correlation of the rubber/PH modulus versus PH concentration by Halpin-Tsai model shows a deviation from the model. Presence of PH in the rubber phase is thought to vary the mechanical properties of the rubber phase by changing both the crosslinking density and rigidity of the molecular network of the rubber, leading to misuse of modulus of pure rubber in Halpin-Tsai equation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Improved mechanical properties of NR/EPDM blends by controlling the migration of curative and filler via reactive processing technique

Simple blending of natural rubber/ethylene–propylene–diene rubber (NR/EPDM) generally results in inferior mechanical properties because of curative migration and their differences for filler affinity. In this work, the 70/30 and 50/50 NR/EPDM blends prepared by reactive processing techniques were investigated and compared with the simple, nonreactive blends. The reactive blend compounds were prepared by preheating EPDM, containing all curatives to a predetermined time related to their scorch time prior to blending with NR. For the 70/30 gum blends, four types of accelerators were studied: 2,2‐mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT), 2,2‐dithiobis‐ (benzothiazole) (MBTS), N‐cyclohexyl‐2‐benzothiazolesulfenamide (CBS), and N‐tert‐butyl‐2‐benzothiazolesulfenamide (TBBS). When compared with the simple blends, the reactive blends cured with CBS and MBTS showed a clearly improved tensile strength whereas the increase of tensile strength in the blends cured with TBBS and MBT was marginal. However, a dramatic improvement of ultimate tensile properties in the reactive 50/50 NR/EPDM blends cured with TBBS was observed when compared with the simple blend. For the N‐550‐filled blends at the blend ratios of 70/30 and 50/50, the reactive‐filled blends prepared under the optimized preheating times demonstrated superior tensile strength and elongation at break over the simple blends. The improved crosslink and/or filler distribution between the two rubber phases in the reactive blends accounts for such improvement in their mechanical properties. This is shown in the scanning electron micrographs of the tensile fractured surfaces of the reactive blends, which indicate a more homogeneous blend. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Continuous ultrasonic devulcanization of NR/SBR blends

The ultrasonic devulcanization of sulfur‐cured natural rubber (NR)/styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) blends was studied with the goal of understanding the devulcanization of rubber vulcanizates in which two networks of different natures were present. Also, similarities and differences in the devulcanization behaviors of NR, SBR, and their blends were found. During the devulcanization of cured NR/SBR blends, we observed that, as for NR, the ultrasonic power consumption for 75/25 and 50/50 (w/w) NR/SBR blends passed through a maximum at 7.5 μm. For SBR and 25/75 (w/w) NR/SBR blends, the power consumption increased with increasing ultrasonic amplitude. The higher power consumption led to a higher degree of devulcanization. The crosslink densities of the devulcanized 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25 (w/w) NR/SBR blends were lower than those of the devulcanized NR and SBR, possibly because of the reduced degree of unsaturation. The tensile properties of the revulcanized blends were lower than those of the virgin vulcanized blends. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 160–168, 2002     

Mechanical and morphological properties of cellular NR/SBR vulcanizates under thermal and weathering ageing

The effects of addition of two chemical blowing agents in cellular rubber blend of natural rubber (NR) and styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR) at a fixed blend ratio of 1 : 1 on cure characteristics, and mechanical and morphological properties were invesigated. The chemical blowing agents used in this work were Oxybis (benzene sulfonyl) hydrazide (OBSH) and Azo dicarbonamide (ADC). Three different fillers, fly ash (FA) particles, precipitated silica, carbon black (CB) at their optimum concentrations of 40 phr were used, the FA and silica particles being chemically treated by bis‐(3‐triethoxysilylpropyl) tetrasulphide. The results suggested that the overall cure time decreased with OBSH and ADC contents. The OBSH was more effective in cure‐acceleration of the NR/SBR blend than the ADC. The NR/SBR vulcanized foams produced by OBSH and ADC agents had closed‐cell structures. The specific density and mechanical properties of the blend tended to decrease with increasing blowing agent content. The CB gave NR/SBR foams with smaller cell size, better cell dispersion, and higher mechanical properties than the precipitated silica and FA particles. The heat ageing and weathering resulted in an increase in tensile modulus and hardness, but lowered the tensile strength, ultimate elongation and tear strength. The elastic recovery for cellular NR/SBR vulcanizates with FA was superior to that with CB and silica, the elastic recovery of the blends decreasing with blowing agent content. Resilience property was improved by the presence of gas phases. The optimum concentration of OBSH and ADC to be used for NR/SBR vulcanizates was 4 phr. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Toughness improvement of novel biobased aromatic polyamide/SEBS/organoclay ternary hybrids

Biobased aromatic polyamide/organoclay (Cloisite30B, C30B) nanocomposites were melt-compounded with reactive and nonreactive styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene (SEBS) rubbers at different weight contents to form ternary and quaternary blends. The mechanical properties were investigated as a function of the blend composition. The elongation at break and the impact strength increase with increasing SEBS rubber content, whereas the Young's modulus logically decreases proportionally to SEBS amount. Extra addition of SEBS grafted maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA) induces a synergistic effect. The SEBS-g-MA makes it possible to limit the aforementioned rigidity loss and to greatly increase the impact strength. The critical strain energy release rate increases significantly when both reactive and nonreactive rubbers are combined. Three types of microstructures appear depending on the blend composition: (1) small and numerous well-dispersed particles when reactive rubber is used, (2) about 10 times bigger and less numerous well-dispersed particles in the case of nonreactive rubber, and (3) a flocculated dispersion of small particles when both reactive and nonreactive rubber are added. Finally, the polyamide performances were significantly increased when the flocculated morphology was noticed due to a better PAXD/SEBS interfacial adhesion given by the SEBS-g-MA compatibilization and to a thinner rubber distribution in the matrix. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48888.