Effect of Surface Properties of T800 Carbon Fibers on Epoxy/Fiber Interface Adhesion

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of surface properties of domestic sized-T800 carbon fibers on the epoxy/fiber interfacial adhesion by comparing with Toray sized-T800 carbon fibers. Surface chemistry analysis of the fibers was carried out by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface roughness of the carbon fibers was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Dynamic contact angle analysis (DCAA) was selected to characterize the surface energy of the two types of carbon fibers. The interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) test, SEM and Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) were used to study the interface adhesion of the two carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites. The results show that Toray sized-T800 carbon fiber/epoxy composite has higher interlaminar shear strength than domestic sized-T800/epoxy composite because Toray sized-T800 carbon fibers have more active and rougher surface than the domestic sized-T800 carbon fibers.