Recent Developments at the Interface of Carbon Fiber‐Reinforced Polymer Composites Theory, Modification and Interfacial Properties

ABSTRACT Carbon fiber‐reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites are extensively employed in aerospace, automobile, marine, sporting goods, and related fields due to their advantageous properties including light weight, high strength, and corrosion resistance. To address increasingly stringent and complex application environments, various surface modification techniques are utilized to modify smooth and chemically inert carbon fiber (CF) surface to obtain high reactivity and optimal surface topography, thereby improving weak interfacial bonding within CFRP composites, forming high‐performance interphase to enhance mechanical properties. In this paper, the most recent and comprehensive composite interface theories, CF surface modification methods, and their research levels are systematically reviewed. Interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) values reported in related publications over the recent 3 years have been statistically analyzed, providing a definitive reference for future interface design and modification of CFRP composites. Finally, current modification advances and further research directions are summarized, and development trends toward multi‐technology combined modification and structure–function integrated composites are discussed.