Toughening of a Carbon-Fibre Composite Using Electrospun Poly(Hydroxyether of Bisphenol A) Nanofibrous Membranes Through Inverse Phase Separation and Inter-Domain Etherification

Materials

Kevin Magniez¹  Thomas Chaffraix¹ 

[1] Institute of Technology Research and Innovation, Deakin University, Victoria, Waurn Ponds 3217, Australia; E-Mails:

关键词: poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol A);    nanofibres;    fracture toughness;    delamination;    electro-spinning;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma4111967

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The interlaminar toughening of a carbon fibre reinforced composite by interleaving a thin layer (~20 microns) of poly(hydroxyether of bisphenol A) (phenoxy) nanofibres was explored in this work. Nanofibres, free of defect and averaging several hundred nanometres, were produced by electrospinning directly onto a pre-impregnated carbon fibre material (Toray G83C) at various concentrations between 0.5 wt % and 2 wt %. During curing at 150 °C, phenoxy diffuses through the epoxy resin to form a semi interpenetrating network with an inverse phase type of morphology where the epoxy became the co-continuous phase with a nodular morphology. This type of morphology improved the fracture toughness in mode I (opening failure) and mode II (in-plane shear failure) by up to 150% and 30%, respectively. Interlaminar shear stress test results showed that the interleaving did not negatively affect the effective in-plane strength of the composites. Furthermore, there was some evidence from DMTA and FT-IR analysis to suggest that inter-domain etherification between the residual epoxide groups with the pendant hydroxyl groups of the phenoxy occurred, also leading to an increase in glass transition temperature (~7.5 °C).

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.