Improving the interfacial property of carbon fiber/PI resin composite by grafting modification of carbon fiber surface

The poor interfacial adhesion between carbon fibers (CFs) and polyimide (PI) resin has seriously hampered the application of CF/PI composites. In this work, the interfacial adhesion was efficiently enhanced by grafting on the CF surface. Surface morphology and surface composition of modified carbon fibers were characterized, which indicated that acrylamide was grafted successfully on the CF surface and the surface roughness was increased slightly. After grafting, the interface shear strength of modified carbon fibers/PI composites was significantly improved by 86.96%, and the interlaminar shear strength was enhanced by 55.61% due to the covalent bonds in interphase and the toughening effect of sizing agent. Moreover, the mechanical properties of composites with different interfacial adhesion were measured, which further confirmed the effect of the grafting modification.     

Interfacial Characteristics and Fracture Toughness of Electrolytically Ni-Plated Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Phenolic Resin Matrix Composites

The electrolytic plating of metallic nickel on a carbon fiber surface has been carried out in order to improve the interfacial adhesion and the mechanical properties in carbon fiber/phenolic matrix composite systems. The surface and the mechanical interfacial properties of composites are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), surface free energy, and the critical stress intensity factor (K(IC)). From the experimental results, it is clearly revealed that the oxygen functional groups and the metallic nickel on fibers largely affect the mechanical interfacial behavior of the composites, resulting in increased surface polarity, whereas the nitrogen functional groups have no effect. Also, a good correlation between surface oxygen functional groups and mechanical interfacial properties and between wettability and K(IC) is established and it is found that a 10 A m(-2) current density is the optimum condition for this system. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Interfacial studies on the ozone and air‐oxidation‐modified carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composites

In this work, ozone modification method and air‐oxidationwere used for the surface treatment of polyacrylonitrile(PAN)‐based carbon fiber. The surface characteristics of carbon fibers were characterized by XPS. The interfacial properties of carbon fiber‐reinforced (polyetheretherketone) PEEK (CF/PEEK) composites were investigated by means of the single fiber pull‐out tests. As a result, it was found that IFSS (interfacial shear strength) values of the composites with ozone‐treated carbon fiber are increased by 60% compared to that without treatment. XPS results show that ozone treatment increases the amount of carboxyl groups on carbon fiber surface, thus the interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and PEEK matrix is effectively promoted. The effect of surface treatment of carbon fibers on the tribological properties of CF/PEEKcomposites was comparativelyinvestigated. Experimental results revealed that surface treatment can effectively improve the interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and PEEK matrix. Thus the wear resistance was significantly improved. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Friction and wear properties of combined surface modified carbon fabric reinforced phenolic composites

Carbon fabric (CF) was surface treated with silane-coupling agent modification, HNO₃ oxidation, combined surface treatment, respectively. The friction and wear properties of the carbon fabric reinforced phenolic composites (CFP), sliding against GCr15 steel rings, were investigated on an M-2000 model ring-on-block test rig. Experimental results revealed that combined surface treatment largely reduced the friction and wear of the CFP composites. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) investigation of the worn surfaces of the CFP composites showed that combined surface modified CFP composite had the strongest interfacial adhesion and the smoothest worn surface under given load and sliding rate. SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study of carbon fiber surface showed that the fiber surface became rougher and the oxygen concentration increased greatly after combined surface treatment, which improved the adhesion between the fiber and the phenolic resin matrix and hence to improve the friction-reduction and anti-wear properties of the CFP composite.     

Wettability of carbon fibers modified by acrylic acid and interface properties of carbon fiber/epoxy

The oxidation-reduction and pre-irradiation induced methods were employed to study the effect of acrylic acid modification on the wetting and adsorption ability of carbon fiber (CF) in epoxy solution and the interfacial properties of CF/epoxy. Systematic experimental work was conducted to determine the surface topography, surface energy, surface chemical composition, absorbability and tensile strength of carbon fibers and interfacial adhesion of CF/epoxy before and after modification. The roughness, surface energy, amount of containing-oxygen functional groups and wetting ability were all found to increase significantly after modifications. The tensile strength of carbon fibers was improved marginally by γ-ray pre-irradiation while was decreased little by oxidation-reduction modification. Consequently, the surface modifications of carbon fibers via both oxidation-reduction and pre-irradiation led to an improvement (more than 15%) of the interlaminar shear strength of CF/epoxy composites. The mechanisms of interfacial improvement of modified CF/epoxy composites are proposed.     

Effects of noncovalently functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube with hyperbranched polyesters on mechanical properties of epoxy composites

In order to improve the dispersibility and interface properties of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in epoxy resin (EP), aromatic hyperbranched polyesters with terminal carboxyl (HBP) and aromatic hyperbranched polyesters with terminal amino groups (HBPN) were used for noncovalent functionalization of MWCNTs. Epoxy composites reinforced by different types of MWCNT were prepared. The effects of noncovalent functionalization of MWCNTs on the dispersibility, wettability, interface properties and mechanical properties of epoxy composites were investigated. The results show that the dispersibility and wettability of MWCNTs are significantly improved after noncovalent functionalization. A large number of terminal primary amines (NH₂) on noncovalently functionalized MWCNT with HBPN (HBPN-MWCNT) form covalent bonds with EP matrix, and thus the interfacial adhesion is enhanced significantly, resulting in high load transfer efficiency and substantial increase in mechanical properties. The interface with covalent bonding formed between the flexible hyperbranched polyester layer on the surface of HBPN-MWCNT and the EP matrix promotes plastic deformation of the surrounding EP matrix. The toughening mechanisms of HBPN-MWCNT are MWCNT pull-out and a large amount of plastic deformation of the surrounding EP matrix.     

Effect of compatibilization on thermal degradation kinetics of HDPE-based composites containing cellulose reinforcements

Dynamic thermogravimetric analysis under nitrogen flow was used to investigate the thermal decomposition process of high-density poly(ethylene) (HDPE)-based composites reinforced with cellulose fibers obtained from the recycling of multilayer carton scraps, as a function of the cellulose content and the compatibilization. The Friedman, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, and Coats–Redfern methods were used to determine the apparent activation energy (E _a) of the thermal degradation of the cellulose component into the composites. E _a has been found dependent on the cellulose amount and on the cellulose/polymer matrix interfacial adhesion. In particular, it has been evidenced an increase of the cellulose thermal stability as a consequence of the improved interfacial adhesion between the components in NFR composites.     

Microstructure and tribological properties of 3D needle-punched C/C–SiC brake composites

Carbon fibre reinforced carbon and silicon carbide dual matrix composites (C/C–SiC) show excellent tribological properties and are promising candidates for advanced friction materials. A pressure infiltration/carbonization combined with liquid silicon infiltration was developed for fabricating C/C–SiC composites. The carbon fabric preform was fabricated with the three-dimensional needling method. In the pressure infiltration process, the carbon fibre reinforced plastic was prepared by infiltration of the fabric preform with the furan resin. Then the carbon fibre reinforced plastic was carbonized which was pyrolysed to form a porous carbon/carbon composites. Finally, the porous carbon/carbon was infiltrated with molten silicon to obtain C/C–SiC composites. The composites exhibit excellent friction behavior, including a good stability of brake, and the average dynamic μ is 0.38 and static μ is 0.50, in combination with the linear wear rate of about 5.6 μm cycle^?1. Moreover, the friction surface was covered with friction film which is about 10 μm in thickness. These results show that the C/C–SiC brake composites are promising candidates for advanced brake and clutch systems.     

表面改性对VGCF分散性质的影响

针对气相生长碳纤维极易团聚及与树脂基体界面结合能力较差的难题,采用双氧水-浓硝酸二步法对VGCF进行表面改性处理。利用X射线衍射仪、热重分析仪、傅立叶红外光谱仪、紫外可见分光光度计等测试分析了改性前后VGCF的表面结构和在溶剂中的分散性,并以形状记忆聚氨酯为基体,采用溶液混合法制备了气相生长碳纤维/形状记忆聚氨酯的复合材料,测试了复合材料的力学性能。经过改性后,VGCF的石墨晶型结构几乎没有改变,VGCF表面的含氧官能团浓度得到较大提高,且其在有机溶剂中的分散性及分散稳定性也得到很大提高;在气相生长碳纤维/形状记忆聚氨酯的复合材料截面中,扫描电镜观察表明表面改性使得VGCF在基体中的分散性及与基体的界面结合能力都得到一定程度的提高;经二步法改性处理后的气相生长碳纤维比未处理气相生长碳纤维对复合材料的力学性能的增强效果更为明显。     

Improved thermo-oxidative stability of three-dimensional and four-directional braided carbon fiber/epoxy hierarchical composites using graphene-reinforced gradient interface layer

In order to improve the thermo-oxidative stability of three-dimensional and four-directional braided carbon fiber/epoxy composites, we introduced a gradient interphase reinforced by graphene nanoplatelets (GN) between the carbon fiber and the matrix, with a liquid phase deposition strategy. Both the interlaminar shear strength and the flexural strength of the composites were improved after thermo-oxidative aging at 140 °C for various durations (up to 1200 h). The interfacial reinforcing mechanisms are explored by analyzing the structure of the interfacial phase, thermal conductivity, weight loss, surface topography, fiber/matrix interfacial morphology and thermomechanical properties of the composites. Results indicate that the GN-reinforced gradient interphase provides an effective shield against interface oxidation, assists in thermal stress transfer, and restricts the movement of the different phases of materials at the composite interface.     

Improving the interfacial property of carbon fibre/epoxy resin composites by grafting amine-capped cross-linked poly-itaconic acid

To improve the interfacial properties of carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composites, a surface treatment was used to cap cross-linked poly-itaconic acid onto carbon fibres via in-situ polymerization after itaconic acid grafting. The chemical composition of the modified carbon fiber (CF) surface was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectral and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images showed that the poly-itaconic acid protective sheath was uniformly capped onto the CF surface and that the surface roughness was obviously enhanced. Chemical bonds also played a key role in the interfacial enhancement. The results showed that the interfacial shear strength of the composites with poly-itaconic acid on the carbon fibres (72.2 MPa) was significantly increased by 89.5% compared with that of the composites with pristine CF (38.1 MPa). Moreover, the poly-itaconic acid sheath promoted a slight increase in mono-fibre tensile strength. In addition, the interfacial mechanisms were also discussed. Meanwhile, the mechanical property of the functionalized CF/epoxy resin composites was also significantly improved.     

Influence of surface properties of graphene oxide/carbon fiber hybrid fiber by oxidative treatments combined with electrophoretic deposition

An effective way to prepare graphene oxide/carbon fiber hybrid fiber was proposed by the treatment with hydrogen peroxide and concentrated nitric acid combined with electrophoretic deposition process. Surface functional group, surface roughness, and surface morphologies of carbon fibers were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Results showed that a uniform and thick graphene oxide films were constructed on the surface of carbon fiber. Deposition density increased by introduction of pretreatment of the carbon fiber in the electrophoretic deposition process has been shown as a possible method. Dynamic contact angle analysis results indicated that the deposition of graphene oxide significantly improved surface free energy of carbon fiber by increasing surface area and polar groups. The introduction of graphene oxide in the carbon fiber‐reinforced epoxy composites results in a 55.6% enhancement in the interfacial shear strength and confirms the remarkable improvement in the interfacial adhesion strength of the composites, and the fracture mechanism was also analyzed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strong interfacial modified aramid fabric reinforced degradable thermosetting composites: reinforcing and tribological effects

In this work, dense molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets were grown onto polydopamine (PDA) functionalized aramid fabric (AF) surface via a simple hydrothermal method to improve the wettability between AF surface and polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) resin, thus resulting in stronger AF/resin interfacial bonding. The PDA-assisted surface modification on AF generated a high active interface allowing the nucleation and subsequent growth of MoS₂. Moreover, this nanosheet-coated reinforcement fiber enabled the viscous liquid of resin precursor to spread over and form intimate contact with its surface, which eventually promoted the formation of strong interfacial bonding between AF-MoS₂ and cured resin matrix. In addition, the enhanced interfacial bonding between the reinforcement and matrix generated stable mechanical interlock within the resulting AF-MoS₂/PHT composites, and thus, contributed better thermal stability, higher tensile strength, and tribological properties. Compared with AF/PHT composites, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the AF-MoS₂/PHT composites increased by 32.5% and 50%, and the average friction coefficient and wear rate of AF-MoS₂/PHT composites decreased by 43.9% and 86.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the composites realized the non-destructive recovery of expensive AF at 25 °C. Overall, our study demonstrates a dependable strategy to construct the recyclable AF-MoS₂/PHT composites, which exhibit valuable applications in tribology.     

The synergetic effect of zinc phthalate and carboxymethyl cellulose–carbon nanotube of glass fibers surfaces on improving strength and toughness of polypropylene composite

The interfacial interaction between glass fibers (GFs) and polypropylene (PP) resin is the key factor which affects the properties of GFs reinforced PP composites. The β-transcrystallization (β-TC) structure induced by β-nucleating agent (β-NA) at the interface is beneficial to improving the interfacial performance and comprehensive mechanical properties. However, due to the poor adhesive ability, it is difficult to introduce β-NAs onto GFs surface directly. In this work, for solving above problem, the sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and  NH₂ functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were used to construct the network structure on GFs (CMC-CNT-GF) through plenty of active groups. Furthermore, the zinc phthalate (ZnPht, β-NA) was synthesized and coated on GFs surface by hydrogen bonds interaction with CMC-CNT and physical anchoring effect (ZnPht@CMC-CNT-GF). Finally, the hybrid GFs reinforced PP composite (iPP/ZnPht@CMC-CNT-GF) was prepared, which exhibited enhanced tensile, flexural, and impact strength by 20.1, 9.3, and 33.3%, respectively when compared with the iPP/raw GF due to the formation of β-TC and improvement of interfacial adhesion. This study provides an effective strategy to introduce β-NAs on GFs with network structure for improving interfacial properties by inducing β-TC to enhance the strength and toughness of composite, which could be applied in other fiber/semicrystalline polymer systems.     

Continuous Atmospheric Plasma Oxidation of Carbon Fibres: Influence on the Fibre Surface and Bulk Properties and Adhesion to Polyamide 12

Continuous atmospheric plasma oxidation (APO) was used to introduce oxygen functionalities to the surface of carbon fibres in an attempt to enhance interfacial adhesion between carbon fibres and polyamide-12 (PA-12). APO only affects the surface properties of the fibres while their bulk properties remained unchanged. Contact angle and ζ-potential measurements demonstrated that APO-treated fibres became significantly more hydrophilic due to the introduction of polar oxygen-containing groups on the fibre surface, which also resulted in an increase of surface energy on the carbon fibres. The interfacial shear strength of single carbon fibre/PA-12 model composites, determined by single fibre fragmentation tests, showed an increase from 40 to 83 MPa with up to 4 min of APO treatment time which confirms that the fibre/matrix interfacial adhesion was enhanced. This highlights that the incorporation of APO into composite manufacturing will allow tailoring of the fibre/matrix interface.     

Characterization of mechanical properties of jute/PLA composites containing nano SiO2 modified by coupling agents

Although jute fiber-reinforced PLA composites show strong application prospects, their low mechanical properties limit their applications to some extent. In this paper, nano-SiO₂ particles as well as nano SiO₂ modified by coupling agents which can efficiently improve the strength and toughness of composite materials are introduced into the PLA matrix. The bending, stretching and thermal properties of designed jute/PLA nonwoven composites were studied. The study shows that the nano-SiO₂ particles are beneficial to the interface performance between the PLA matrix and jute leading to improvement in the mechanical properties and thermal stability. Moreover, thermomechanical properties indicate that the addition of SiO₂ can improve the jute/PLA interfacial adhesion and increase the glass transition temperature of the material. Finally, toughening mechanism of nano-SiO₂ particles in the jute/PLA composite was analyzed.

     

Quantitative determination of interfacial adhesion in composites with strong bonding

An approach was proposed for the quantitative determination of adhesion strength in composites, in which adhesion is created by other mechanisms than secondary interactions. The approach is based upon a model, which gives debonding stress as a function of interfacial adhesion. Debonding stress was determined by acoustic emission experiments. The mechanism of deformation was checked by SEM experiments and the approach was verified on composites with known interfacial adhesion. The results showed that the use of functionalized polymer in PP/CaCO₃ composites resulted in adhesion strength one order of magnitude larger than without the coupling agent. The application of various surface modification techniques in PP/glass bead composites yielded different adhesion values covering a range of about one order of magnitude. The quantitative determination of interfacial adhesion makes possible the design and optimization of most surface modification techniques in particulate filled and short fiber reinforced composites.     

The oxidation‐treated interface on tribological properties of carbon fibers‐reinforced PTFE composite under oil‐lubricated condition

The effect of air oxidation and ozone surface treatment of carbon fibers (CF) on tribological properties of CF reinforced polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites under oil‐lubricated condition was investigated. Experimental results revealed that ozone treated CF reinforced PTFE (CF–PTFE) composite had the lowest friction coefficient and wear under various applied loads and sliding speeds compared with untreated and air‐oxidated composites. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study of carbon fiber surface showed that, after ozone treatment, oxygen concentration was obviously increased, and the amount of oxygen‐containing groups on CF surfaces was largely increased. The increase in the amount of oxygen‐containing groups enhanced interfacial adhesion between CF and PTFE matrix. With strong interfacial adhesion of the composite, stress could be effectively transmitted to carbon fibers; carbon fibers were strongly bonded with PTFE matrix and large scale rubbing‐off of PTFE was prevented, therefore, the tribological properties of the composite were improved. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface modification of carbon fiber via electron‐beam irradiation grafting

In this paper, the surface properties of polyacrylonitrile‐based carbon fibers is improved by electron‐beam (EB) irradiation in maleic anhydride/acetone solution at 100, 150, 200 and 150 KGy. Experimental study of this paper is carried out to identify surface topography, surface chemical composition and functional groups, adsorption ability and interface properties of CF/epoxy composites. The results reveal that the roughness of carbon fiber surface is increased obviously after modification by EB irradiation grafting technology. The ratio value of O/C and the relative content of oxygen functional groups on fiber surface are improved effectively, comparing with the unmodified carbon fiber. Besides, adsorption of carbon fiber on epoxy and the mechanical performance of CF/epoxy composites are clearly enhanced after irradiation grafting modification. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interfacial Adhesion and Composite Viscoelasticity

Summary: The viscoelastic properties of 30 vol.‐% composites of calcite, surface‐treated with fatty acids of different chain length, and polyethylene were studied. The alkyl chains decrease the surface energy of the particles and the adhesion between the polymer and the filler. The moduli of the composites decrease with decreasing interfacial adhesion. When the shear forces applied overcome the adhesion forces, interfacial slippage takes place. Terminal OH groups in the alkyl chains enhance the particles' agglomeration, leading to a solid‐like response in the low frequency region. The presence of a plateau in the log moduli versus log frequency plot can be due to local structures and is not necessarily an evidence of a percolating filler network.

Steady shear viscosity (σ = 1 000 Pa) of 30 vol.‐% surface‐treated (different acids) CaCO₃‐HDPE composites plotted as a function of the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chains of the coated monolayer. The dotted line is simply a guide to the eye.