The free volume properties of epoxy/hydroxyl terminated butyl nitrile rubber(EP/HTBN) have been studied by means of positron annihilation technique.The toughness effect is found to be correlated with the content of HTBN and the free volume properties of the EP/HTBN interfaces.When the content of HTBN component is 5%
the free volume size in the interface is close to that of EP
and the toughness effect is strong.But with further addition of HTBN
holes with big size free volume are formed in the interface