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The main drawback of polyamide 12 (PA 12)/nanoclay nanocomposites in their wide range of potential engineering applications known as diminished toughness was overcome using incompatible styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS) rubber. Applying optimal processing parameters for co-rotating twin-screw extrusion resulted in strong interfacial adhesion of matrix and rubber and intercalated and delaminated nanoclay stacks confined in the matrix. The formulation of compatibilized PA 12/SBS/nanoclay nanocomposites was optimized by employing response surface Box-Behnken methodology. A combination of microscopic methods, that is, atomic force microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, and transmission optical microscopy, along with single-edge-double-notch four-point-bending technique, was exploited to exhaustively explore the toughening mechanisms and microstructure. The findings verify that by tailoring the rubber/matrix interfacial strength and nanocomposite morphology, the Izod impact strength of PA 12/nanoclay nanocomposites is noticeably improved even by incorporating an incompatible rubber and tough fracture mechanisms including rubber particle cavitation and largescale shear yielding are attained. K E Y W O R D Sdamage zone, nanocomposites, polyamides, rubber, toughness

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