Influence of oligomeric silsesquioxane coating treatment on interfacial properties of CF/PAA composites

Abstract

Carbon fibres (CF) were modified with different oligomeric silsesquioxane (SSO) coatings to improve the interfacial property of carbon fibres/polyarylacetylene (CF/PAA). The interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of CF/PAA was tested to determine the effect of the treatment. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in force modulation mode was adopted to study the cross-section surface of unidirectional CF/PAA composites and the relative stiffness of various phases, including CF, interphase and resin. The probability histogram and line distribution of CF/PAA cross-section surface relative stiffness, obtained from the statistical analysis of relative stiffness image, were used to compare and study the interface characterizations of composites. The results show that the ILSS increases effectively and the effects on interfacial characterizations are distinguished from each other in accordance with the CF surface modified with different SSO coatings owing to the various structures. Cage oligomeric silsesquioxane, including large organic groups (methacryl isobutyl-POSS), has better treatment result. AFM observations lead to the conclusion that an interfacial transition layer with different morphology and stiffness appears in CF/PAA composites after being treated by the SSO coatings of different structures. It can be inferred that the appearance of the transition layer may contribute to the improvement of fibre/matrix adhesion.