Surface Modification of Aramid Fibers with New Chemical Method for Improving Interfacial Bonding Strength with Epoxy Resin

Friedel-Crafts reaction was elected as the specific chemical approach to modify Aramid fiber surface in this article. After the surface treatment, the interfacial shear strength value of Aramid fiber/Epoxy composites was enhanced by about 50%. The surface elements of Aramid fibers were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, whose results showed that the ratio of Oxygen/Carbon was increased. The crystalline state of Aramid fibers was determined by X-ray diffraction instrument, and the surface morphological of Aramid fibers was analyzed by Scanning electron microscope. The results indicated that this novel surface treatment approach, which is a suitable way of the batch-process for Industrialization, not only can improve the interfacial bonding strength of Aramid fibers reinforced Epoxy resin matrix composites remarkably, but also hardly has any negative influence on the intrinsic tensile strength of Aramid fibers. The wettability degree of the fiber surface was enhanced by this new approach too. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 118: 2541-2552, 2010