Modification of Renewable Cardanol onto Carbon Fiber for the Improved Interfacial Properties of Advanced Polymer Composites

• Published in: Polymers Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 45
• Main Authors: Zheng, Yawen, Chen, Lei, Wang, Xiaoyun, Wu, Guangshun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.12.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Carbon fiber reinforced plastics; Carbon fibers; cardanol; Chemical bonds; Contact angle; Copolymerization; Curing; Energy; Fiber-matrix interfaces; fiber–matrix interface; Hydroxyl groups; Interfacial properties; Interfacial shear strength; Organic chemicals; Particulate composites; Photoelectrons; Polymer matrix composites; polymer-based composites; Raman spectra; Renewable resources; Scanning electron microscopy; Shear strength; surface grafting; Surface roughness; Tensile strength; Vacuum distillation; Wettability; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy; China; Japan; surface grafting; carbon fibers; cardanol; fiber–matrix interface; polymer-based composites
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym12010045

A facile in situ polymerization was developed for grafting renewable cardanol onto the carbon fiber (CF) surfaces to strengthen the fiber-matrix interface. CFs were chemically modified with hydroxyl groups by using an aryl diazonium reaction, and then copolymerized in situ with hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) and cardanol to build cardanol-modified fibers (CF-cardanol). The cardanol molecules were successfully introduced, as confirmed using Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); the cardanol molecules were found to increase the surface roughness, energy, interfacial wettability, and activity with the matrix resin. As a result, the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of CF-cardanol composites increased from 48.2 to 68.13 MPa. In addition, the anti-hydrothermal ageing properties of the modified composites were significantly increased. The reinforcing mechanisms of the fiber-matrix interface were also studied.