Electrospun poly (arylene ether nitrile) fibers for interlaminar toughening of carbon fiber epoxy composites

The limited shear strength and interlaminar toughness of carbon fiber epoxy composite laminates restrict their further promotion. Traditionally, interlaminar toughening has been achieved using polymers such as polyamide 66, polyamide 69, and poly (ε-caprolactone), but they are limited by physical or chemical performance. As a potential option, poly (arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) could be considered for interlaminar toughening due to its epoxy compatibility, thermal resistance, and excellent mechanical properties. In this work, we prepared PEN ultra-fine fibrous membranes with different areal densities by electrospinning. The best overall performance was obtained by adding 8 g/m2 of PEN fibrous membranes between the layers. The results indicate that PEN fibrous membranes increased interlayer shear performance by 12%, mode I fracture toughness by 69%, and pendulum impact performance by 6%. This work highlights the potential of electrospun thermoplastic PEN fibers for improving the interlaminar toughening of composite laminates.