Interfacial studies on the ozone and air-oxidation-modified carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composites

In this work, ozone modification method and air-oxidationwere used for the surface treatment of polyacrylonitrile(PAN)-based carbon fiber. The surface characteristics of carbon fibers were characterized by XPS. The interfacial properties of carbon fiber-reinforced (polyetheretherketone) PEEK (CF/PEEK) composites were investigated by means of the single fiber pull-out tests. As a result, it was found that IFSS (interfacial shear strength) values of the composites with ozone-treated carbon fiber are increased by 60% compared to that without treatment. XPS results show that ozone treatment increases the amount of carboxyl groups on carbon fiber surface, thus the interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and PEEK matrix is effectively promoted. The effect of surface treatment of carbon fibers on the tribological properties of CF/PEEKcomposites was comparatively investigated. Experimental results revealed that surface treatment can effectively improve the interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and PEEK matrix. Thus the wear resistance was significantly improved. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.