Multiscale carbon fiber-graphene oxide reinforcements for silicone resin composites with simultaneously enhanced interfacial strength and antihydrothermal aging behaviors

Multiscale carbon fiber/graphene oxide (CF/GO) reinforcements were developed by chemically grafting GO onto the CF surface using tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) as a bridging agent for methylphenylsilicone resin composites. Chemical structures and surface morphologies of CFs were systematically characterized. GO was uniformly grafted onto the surface of CFs by the formation of chemical bonding between CFs and GO. TEPA and GO grafting could enhance wettability, surface roughness and free energy significantly. The obtained hierarchical reinforcement (CF-TEPA-GO) composites offered 48.49 and 31.53% improvements in the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and impact toughness, respectively. Moreover, ILSS of CF-TEPA-GO composites after hydrothermal aging treatment was 37.65 MPa with a decrease of just 13.96% compared with that of Untreated CF composites (20.52 MPa) with an obvious decrease of 30.37%. Our design technique, starting from facile chemistry and inexpensive materials, can offer a versatile and effective strategy of preparing hierarchical reinforcements for high-performance composites applications. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:3509-3518, 2018. (c) 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers