Carbon fibre functionalization by plasma treatment for adhesion enhancement on polymers

Current technological demands are increasingly stretching the properties of advanced materials to allow them to make them suitable for more severe or extreme conditions, whilst simultaneously seeking cost-effective production processes and final products. Composites based on carbon fibre (CF) are a hot topic in this field. In order to increase the CF adhesion to polymers, surface functionalization is needed. However different techniques can lead to different behavior of the treated surfaces. In the framework of the EU MODCOMP project (contract 685844), aimed to develop novel fibre-based materials for technical, high value, high performance products for nonclothing applications, CF plasma functionalization is identified as a critical step in order to increase polymer adhesion in final products. Here we show the effect of different plasma functionalization on CF. XPS, Raman and FESEM investigation will highlight the difference between these plasma treatments. The impact of these differences on the final products will be thoroughly discussed.