Improving the interfacial properties of carbon fiber–epoxy resin composites with a graphene‐modified sizing agent

Abstract

We successfully prepared a graphene-modified carbon fiber (CF) sizing agent with good dispersity and stability by dispersing reduced graphene oxide (RGO) into an emulsion-type sizing agent. RGO was obtained by the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) with the help of gallic acid. The influence of the graphene-modified sizing agent on the interfacial properties of the CF-epoxy resin composites was investigated with microbond testing and the three-point bending method. The results show that optimized interfacial properties were achieved when the size of the modified graphene was less than 1 μm, the content of RGO was 20 ppm, and the pH value of the sizing agent was 10.5. The interfacial shear strength of the composites reached 92.3 MPa, which was 29.6% higher than that of the composites with unmodified CFs. Compared with commercial-CF-fabric-reinforced composites, the interlaminar shear strength of the composites treated with the RGO-modified sizing agent increased by 21.5%. Both the interfacial and interlaminar failure morphologies of the composites were examined with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that a large amount of residual resin adhered to the surfaces of the CFs treated with the RGO-modified sizing agent; this indicated good interfacial properties between the CFs and the resin matrix.

The Influence of Graphene Oxide on Nanoparticle Emissions during Drilling of Graphene/Epoxy Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Engineered Nanomaterials

“…As is observed in the literature, GO particles are seen to improve the interfacial bonding between the CF and the EP. The microscopy images of the surface of the carbon fibers with attached particles of GO and EP are in accordance with similar findings in other recent studies that embedded GO within EP/CF samples [49,50]. The increase in the number of particles attached to the deposited fibers was the only identifiable difference in the morphology studies investigating the influence of the GO filler weight concentration.…”

Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Experimental Studies on the Thermomechanical Properties of Epoxy Resin with Different Anhydride Curing Agents

“…It is widely used in high voltage insulation systems [1,2,3,4,5]. Composites prepared by filling modification are usually used to improve the thermomechanical properties of epoxy resins [6,7,8,9,10]. However, filling of a large number of fillers will lead to decreased insulation properties [11].…”

Improve the interfacial properties of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin composites by maleimide‐modified waterborne polyurethane sizing agent

“…In our study, the interfacial adhesion of composites evaluated by IFSS and ILSS measurements. 49,50 The IFSS of CFREs before and after sizing is shown in Figure 13a. The sizing treatment not only increases the wettability of the fiber surface but also increases the reactivity of the surface.…”