Effect of graphene oxide addition on the interlaminar shear property of carbon fiber-reinforced epoxy composites

Carbon fiber-reinforced composites were manufactured by hot pressing stacked carbon fiber prepregs using graphene oxide (GO)-modified epoxy resin as the matrix. Tetrahydrofuran was used as the solvent to disperse GO in the epoxy resin. Results showed that a homogeneous GO-modified epoxy system could be obtained, which was stable for approximately 3 h, long enough to produce the prepreg. The incorporation of 0.10 wt% GO into the epoxy resin achieved the largest interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of 96.14 MPa for laminates, 8.05% higher than that without GO. Also, the glass transition temperature of the composite was increased by approximately 5 degrees C. The improvement of ILSS could be attributed to the toughening of the epoxy resin and an improvement in the interfacial adhesion between carbon fibers and epoxy matrix.