An acrylic rubber(ACM) with epoxide groups has been used to improve the toughness of epoxy resins(EP) for the first time.The crosslink condition effects on the morphology and properties of the EP/ACM blends have been investigated systematically.It is found that the EP/ACM blends are miscible before the crosslinking over the whole composition ranges.In contrast

the reaction induced phase separation(RIPS) takes place for the EP/ACM=80/20 and 50/50 systems

while other blend systems maintain the homogeneous structure during the crosslink process.It was further found that the phase separation by the crosslinking led to the EP-rich and ACM-rich phases for the blend

indicating the each other inclusion structures for the RIPS systems.The co-crosslink of EP and ACM was also confirmed by the solvent etching experiments.Moreover

the phase structures and physical properties of the EP/ACM blends are much dependent upon the crosslink condition

which provides feasible access for manipulating the structure and properties of the EP/ACM blends.