Thermal treatment as an effective method of carbon/glass fibers surface modification for high-performance thermoplastic polymer matrix composites

Abstract

Fiber reinforced high-performance thermoplastic polymer composites are one of the most promising materials in modern materials science. At the same time the challenges with high processing temperatures and melt viscosity, poor interfacial adhesion has slowed adoption of this materials. Most commonly used as reinforcements carbon and glass fibers are usually has an inert surface that prevent good wettability and formation of strong fiber–matrix interface. In this work, thermal treatment of carbon and glass fibers was used as a method of the fibers’ surface modification. A polyethersulfone (PES) based composites reinforced with initial and modified carbon and glass fibers were developed using solution impregnation method followed by compression molding technique. Mechanical and thermal behavior of the composites before and after the modification was studied. It was shown that thermal treatment of the fibers results in improved interfacial interaction as well as higher strength-elastic properties of the PES based composites.