This study addresses the effect of the coatings prepared from aramid nanofibers (ANFs) on the surface treatment of aramid fiber and reinforced polycarbonate (PC) composite (AF/PC). Aramid fiber's smooth, inert surface bonds poorly with polycarbonate. In this research, the PC‐ANF coating was made by the PC/CH2Cl2 solution, which was modified by aramid nanofibers to improve the interfacial adhesion and compatibility of aramid fiber/PC composites. What's more, the silane (KH570) was added to improve the dispersion and interfacial strength of ANF and PC. The results showed the water contact angle of the aramid fiber modified by PSi‐ANF coating was reduced, indicating the modified fiber has a better wettability. The interfacial bonding strength between PC and aramid fiber increased by 77.2%. The AF/PC composites were prepared by hot‐compression, which the aramid fiber wovens treated with P‐ANF coating, PSi‐ANF coating. The tensile strength, flexural strength, interlaminar shear strength, and impact strength of the AF/PC composite reinforced by AF treated with PSi‐ANF containing 2.0 wt% ANF increased by 62.0%, 81.9%, 49.5%, and 27.6%, respectively. Therefore, this study demonstrates that incorporating ANF interphase may offer an innovative and practical way for enhancing the interface bonding properties of aramid‐reinforced composites.

Aramid pulp (AP) is often used as a composite reinforcement due to its excellent properties, but poor dispersion and interfacial adhesion restrict its application in composite materials. In this work, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was carried on the surface of AP by supercritical CO2 (scCO2) and hydrolyzed to synthesize the nano‐silica, which improves the dispersion of AP in ethylene‐propylene‐diene elastomer (EPDM). The nano‐silica particles were deposited on the AP surface, and th modified AP was evenly dispersed in the EPDM composites based on the SEM results. Moreover, a silane coupling agent (KH‐560) was brought by scCO2 to further modify the nano‐silica on the surface of the AP to improve the interfacial adhesion. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that after KH‐560 modification, active epoxy groups were introduced on the surface of AP. The tensile strength and tear strength of the KH‐560‐nano‐silica‐AP/EPDM composites were significantly improved, reaching 8.98 and 42.06 MPa, which increased by 26% and 88.10%, respectively, compared with untreated‐AP/EPDM composites. Dynamic mechanical analysis shows that the storage modulus of KH‐560‐nano‐silica‐AP/EPDM composites increased to 2456 MPa compared with the pure EPDM for 1873 MPa, and the loss factor decreased. When the AP was modified in scCO2 with nano‐silica and KH‐560, the composites' oil resistance was also improved.

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