Surface Modification of Aramid Fibres with Graphene Oxide for Interface Improvement in Composites
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Surface Modification of Aramid Fibres with Graphene Oxide for Interface Improvement in Composites Lei Zeng 1 & Xuqing Liu 1 & Xiaogang Chen 1 & Constantinos Soutis 1,2
Received: 8 May 2018 / Accepted: 26 June 2018 # The Author(s) 2018
Abstract A novel method of biomimetic surface modification was used for aramid fibres aiming to enhance the interface properties between epoxy resin and the modified aramid fibre. Inspired by the composition of adhesive proteins in mussels, a thin layer of poly(dopamine) (PDA) was self-polymerized onto the surface of the aramid fibre. The graphene oxide (GO) was then grafted on the surface of PDA-coated aramid fibres. The microstructure and chemical characteristics of the pristine and modified fibres were characterised using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), indicating successful grafting of GO on the PDA-coated aramid fibres. Single fibre tensile test and microbond test were carried out to evaluate the mechanical properties of the modified fibres. It was found that the fibre surface modification improved the interfacial shear strength by 210% and the fibre tensile strength was protected by GO-PDA coating. Keywords Surface modification . Graphene oxide . Interface . Aramid fibre composites . Epoxy resin
1 Introduction Fibre reinforced composites have been widely used in aerospace, automobile, and military industries, due to their high specific strength, modulus, lightweight and flexible design. Particularly, aramid fibre is an ideal reinforcement for high-performance composites as it contains high mechanical properties, chemical stability and low density [1]. * Xiaogang Chen [email protected]
1
School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
2
Aerospace Research Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Appl Compos Mater
The surface of aramid fibres is smooth and chemically inert which lead to less strong interface with the matrix. It has been reported that weak bonding can lead to low load transfer efficiency between the fibre and resin in a fibre composite [2]. To enhance the interfacial adhesion strength of aramid fibre-reinforced composites, efforts were mainly made to modify fibre surface using plasma treatment, γ-ray irradiation, ultrasonic treatment, chemical grafting and etching [3–5]. However, these techniques request multistep procedures and are associated to the use of high cost instrument. In addition, these surface treatments are limited with strict reaction condition and in some case the use of toxic materials. Due to the damage caused to the fibre surface, fibre strength reduction is inevitable. This paper aims to improve the interfacial adhesion between aramid fibres and epoxy resin based on the use of a novel method for fibre surface treatment at ambient temperature. A biopolymer, polydopamine (PDA), is applied to form a coating layer on the surface of fibre via pH-induced oxidative self-polymerization, introducing functional groups such as carboxyl, amine and catech
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