AbstractNylon 6 produced by the reaction injection molding (RIM) process is toughened through block copolymerization of caprolactam with functional, rubbery prepolymers. This article describes an alternate route, where caprolactam is polymerized in the presence of a dispersed particulate rubber. The particulate rubber employed in this study has a core‐shell morphology with a soft, crosslinked butadiene‐based rubbery core and a grafted styrene–acrylonitrile shell. The core‐shell rubber is dispersed as a latex in caprolactam to high quality dispersions which, on anionic polymerization, give tough castings. Incorporation of a reactive monomer such as hydroxypropyl methacrylate in the graft shell brings about further improvement in impact s
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