Interphase Modiﬁcation and Compatibilization of Rubber Based Blends Bag ˘dagül Karaag ˘aç and Veli Deniz Abstract Blending of two or more elastomers is carried out for several purposes. The properties of an elastomer blend depend strongly on its state of compatibility and miscibility. In this chapter, recent advances on development of interphase modiﬁcation and compatibilization of rubber-based blends are summarized. Cur- rent trends in compatibilization of rubber/rubber blends, TPEs and other rubber/ thermoplastic blends, natural polymer blends, rubber-based blends with and without ﬁller modiﬁcation are discussed in detail. Finally, new challenges and opportunities of rubber-based blends are given. 1 Introduction to Phase Modiﬁcation and Compatibilization Elastomeric compounds are often consist of more than one type of rubber as polymer matrix. Blending of two or more elastomers is carried out for several purposes, such as improving the physical and mechanical properties of the ﬁrst elastomer, obtaining good processing characteristics of rubber compound and/or decreasing the compound cost [1]. For example, a tire compound has to be soft and elastic in order to conform to the road surface. At the same time, it has to be stiff and strong in order to bear load, and be resistant to abrasion to provide long service life. Similarly, various rubber based goods, such as seals and ‘O’ rings, have to be soft and conform to the contour of the equipment; but at the same time, they have to undergo minimum compression set in order to perform under high stress over a B. Karaag ˘aç (&)  V. Deniz Department of Chemical Engineering, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, Turkey e-mail: bkaraagac@kocaeli.edu.tr V. Deniz e-mail: vdeniz41@gmail.com P. M. Visakh et al. (eds.), Advances in Elastomers I, Advanced Structured Materials 11, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20925-3_9, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 263