Mussel-Inspired Design of a Carbon Fiber–Cellulosic Polymer Interface toward Engineered Biobased Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites

Abstract

Tuning interactions at the interfaces in carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced polymer composites necessitates the implementation of CF surface modification strategies that often require destructive environmentally unfriendly chemistries. In this study, interfacial interactions in cellulose-based composites are tailored by means of a mussel-inspired adhesive polydopamine (PDA) coating, being inherently benign for the environment and for the structure of CFs. The step-by-step growth of PDA was followed by increasing treatment time leading to a hydrophilic PDA-coated surface, presumably via surface-based polymerization mechanisms attributed to strong π–π stacking interactions. Although PDA deposition led to an initial increase in the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) (5 h), it decreased at a longer reaction time (24 h), the formation of weakly attached PDA particles on the coated surface can possibly lie behind the latter phenomenon. Nevertheless, the mechanical properties of the prepared short CF-reinforced composite were improved (tensile strength increased ∼12% compared to the unmodified surface) with decreasing IFSS owing to the particular morphological design, resulting in longer fiber segments. Our study underlines the importance of the morphological design at the interface and considers PDA as a promising bioinspired material to tailor interfacial interactions.

Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane Encountering Tannic Acid: A Mild and Efficient Strategy for Interface Modification on Carbon Fiber Composites

“…2,28,33,34 After co-deposition of TA/POSS on the fiber surface, four new peaks are observed, which can be assigned to C−Si (284.2 eV), CN (287 eV), CO (288.1 eV), and O−CO (289 eV). 1,6,28,30,35 Interestingly, the C−Si and C−N contents markedly increase from 0 and 5.07% (de-sized CF) to 19.94 and These results indicate that the elevated mass of POSS−NH 2 assists in the cross-linking reaction between TA and POSS− NH 2 , resulting in the co-deposition of more adhesion coating on the fiber surface. As for the N 1s peak for CF-TA/POSS, there are three subpeaks at 398.8, 399.9, and 401.9 eV, which are ascribed to N−R, R−NH, and R−NH 2 , respectively.…”

“…The peak fitting of C 1s and N 1s regions’ deconvolution spectra is used to evaluate the detailed chemical bonds of the fiber surface (displayed in Figure b–e, Table S2 and Figure S2). For the C 1s spectra, the original three peaks are assigned to C–C (284.6 eV), C–N (285.7 eV), and C–O (286 eV) of the de-sized CF. ,,, After co-deposition of TA/POSS on the fiber surface, four new peaks are observed, which can be assigned to C–Si (284.2 eV), CN (287 eV), CO (288.1 eV), and O–CO (289 eV). ,,,, …”

Mechanical and Acoustic Properties of Jute Fiber-Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

“…It can be found from Figure a–c that the jute fiber and polypropylene were firmly bound together in the composites with the decrease of the fiber glue residue rate. Due to the fact that the hydrophilic group (hydroxyl group) decreased, impurities such as pectin and wax were also removed, which was conducive to the formation of a better interface between the jute fiber and the polypropylene matrix . When the composite material was stretched and broken under a load, the smaller the residual glue rate of the jute fiber, the better the combination with the matrix, and the smaller the gap between the fiber and the matrix.…”

Effect of Fibers on the Performance of a Porous Friction Course

“…First, adding the fiber to the SBS-modified asphalt binder enhances the material strength, antifatigue, and ductility due to its inherent compatibility . Second, the fiber can provide a high surface area which is beneficial for the adsorption of more asphalt; as a result, it can stabilize asphalt to prevent it from leaking during pavement construction. , More importantly, the SBS-modified asphalt–fiber mixture is much cheaper than the TPS-modified asphalt binder. , …”