Achieving optimal infiltration behavior of carbon fiber/Al-2219 composites by chemical modification of carbon fiber

In this study, a novel chemical modification was proposed to introduce carboxylate copper onto the woven carbon fiber (CF) surface, and then the modified CF/Al-2219 composites were successfully fabricated by powder metallurgy. The results showed that the chemical modification of CF improved the infiltration of Al-2219 matrix into woven CFs, thus significantly reduced the defects. The average ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the modified CF/Al-2219 composites was improved by approximately 13.2 %, and the woven CFs were able to strengthen the composites in multiple directions. This work provides a convenient method of CF pre-treatment for the fabrication of CF/Al composites.