Improvement of the interfacial adhesion between PBO fibers and PPESK matrices using plasma-induced coating

This work deals with the plasma-induced coating process on the surface of PBO fibers to obtain a strong interfacial adhesion between the poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers and the poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK) matrices. The process consisted of four steps: (a) plasma preactivation of PBO fibers; (b) immersion in an epoxy resin solution; (c) drying and then soaking with the PPESK solution; (d) shaped by compression molding technique. The orthogonal experiments used in this study enable the determination of the significant experimental parameters that influence efficiency of the process by comparing the values of ILSS. The order of their influences was the concentration > power > treating time > treating pressure. The results of the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and water absorption showed that the ILSS of the composite increased by 56.5% after coating, meanwhile the water absorption declined to 0.32%. The changes of the surface chemical composition, the surface morphology, and the surface free energy of fibers were studied by FTIR spectroscopy, atomic force microscope (AFM), and dynamic contact angle analysis (DCAA), respectively. Fracture mechanism of the composite was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicated that plasma-induced coating process was an efficient method to enhance the interfacial adhesion of PBO fibers and PPESK matrices. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012