Improving the interfacial shear strength of carbon fibre and epoxy via mechanical interlocking effect

Abstract

In this study, an effective and environmentally friendly method is proposed to enhance the interfacial shear strength between the carbon fibre and resin by the mechanical interlocking effect. The Fenton chemical reaction was used to oxidize and construct uneven structure on the carbon fibre surface, followed by functionalization with amine (-NH2) groups. The carbon fibre surface morphology was first designed, and the mechanical properties of the interface were investigated through molecular dynamics simulation. It was found that the interface shear strength increased by 277.9% and 133.6%, in comparison with the untreated CF and –NH2@CF, respectively. The microbond test showed that the interface shear strength improved by 251.1% and 159.4%, respectively, proving the effectiveness of our design within a certain error range. Moreover, the tensile strength increased by 8.39%. The proposed method opens up a new way to enhance the interface mechanical properties of fibre reinforced composite materials.