Three-dimensional Interconnected Nanosheet Architecture as a Transition Layer and Nanocontainer for Interfacial Enhancement of Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites

To enhance interfacial properties of carbon fiber/epoxy composites, a facile and effective process was developed to fabricate three-dimensional interconnected nanosheet architecture by in situ growing Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets on carbon fibers (CFs). Scanning electron microcopy clearly revealed that the nanostructured Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets were uniformly grown on carbon fibers, which could play as nanocontainers of the epoxy matrix when fracture occurred. To explore the mechanical interlocking of composites, energy-dispersive spectrometry mapping scanning was performed to explore the penetration transition layer. The interfacial shear strength improved up to 82.1% compared with untreated composites, and the optimal interlaminar shear strength of composites reached up to 93.9 MPa. According to the test results, it is reasonable to consider that this new effective and low-cost strategy could effectively improve the interfacial properties of CF/epoxy composites and could be a good candidate for potential large-scale industrial application.