AbstractThe mechanical properties of thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs), depend strongly on their morphologies, which themselves depend on the properties of the primary polymers, the composition of the TPV, and the crosslink system and crosslink process. The morphology is defined during the dynamic vulcanization. This work deals with the study of the influence of crosslink systems on TPVs based on PA/NBR (copolyamide PA6/6‐6 and nitrile rubber) in a 40/60 composition. Dicumyl peroxide, bismaleimide, phenolic resin, a sulfur‐accelerated system, and dicumyl peroxide with two coagents were used as crosslinkers. TPVs were characterized by taking into account their mechanical strength, solvent resistance, compression set, and morphology. The curing system constituted by dicumyl peroxide and sulfur/bismaleimide as coagents resulted in a more defined morphology, and therefore the TPV exhibited the best properties. For these TPVs, a morphology consisting of spherical domains of rubber distributed homogeneously on the polyamide matrix could be observed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012