Abstract
Carbon fiber surfaces were analyzed by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). IGC measurements were carried out at infinite and finite dilution by using neutral and specific probes. At infinite dilution the dispersive component of the surface free energy and the acid–base indexes were obtained. At finite dilution the energy distribution functions were calculated. Three carbon fibers were analyzed, one untreated and two fibers treated with different sizings. The fibers have similar dispersive components of surface free energy but their acid–base characteristics are markedly different. The untreated fiber has an acidic surface, and the sized fibers have a surface with high base character. The energy distribution functions show different peaks assigned to active sites existing on the carbon fiber surfaces. The use of acid or basic probes provides different energy distribution functions with good correlation with the base and acid character of the fiber surface. Changes in surface heterogeneity revealed by energy distribution functions were correlated also with surface chemical composition derived from high-resolution XPS measurements.
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