Zoriana Demchuk1,Jiadeng Zhu1,Yijie Jiang2,Rigoberto Advincula3,Pengfei Cao1
Oak Ridge National Lab1,University of North Texas2,Oak Ridge National Laboratory3
Zoriana Demchuk1,Jiadeng Zhu1,Yijie Jiang2,Rigoberto Advincula3,Pengfei Cao1
Oak Ridge National Lab1,University of North Texas2,Oak Ridge National Laboratory3
The development of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites has been attracted among scientific community due to their lightweight, exceptional mechanical performance, robustness, and long service time. The performance of composite highly depends on several factors including the type of reinforcement, polymer matrix, and the interface layer. Aside from the durability and long-lasting properties of carbon fiber, the carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites usually have limited long-term mechanical performance due to their poor compatibility and weak interactions between fiber and polymer matrix. Herein, we developed high-performance carbon fiber epoxy composites with improved interfacial interactions between fiber and matrix <i>via</i> surface modification of carbon fiber that determines the effectiveness of load transfer across the filler-matrix interface. The chemical functionalization of carbon fibers using silane treatment delivered amino-functionalized carbon fibers that actively interacted with epoxy matrix leading to enhanced mechanical properties. Raman mapping results clearly demonstrated the formation of the distinguished interphase region between amino-functionalized carbon fiber and epoxy polymer confirming the presence of strong interfacial interaction between matrix and carbon filler. Effective covalent bonding between amino-functionalized carbon fiber and epoxy matrix afford uniform fiber distribution in epoxy matrix and eliminated the phase separation during the thermal cycling process. Moreover, the enhancement of interfacial interaction between fiber and epoxy matrix noticeably improves tensile strength (from 62 MPa to 73MPa) with 5% wt. carbon fiber loading. Such improvements in the mechanical performance of carbon fiber epoxy composites suggest the great potential of surface modification of carbon fiber in the development of high-performance carbon fiber reinforced composites for a wide range of applications.