Improvement of interfacial adhesion of CuO nanostructured carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites

Abstract Hydrothermal technique was used to deposit copper‐oxide (CuO) nanostructures on woven carbon fibers (WCF) to produce a nanostructured interphase that increased the interfacial strength with an epoxy resin matrix. In order to create laminated hybrid composites, CuO‐modified WCF was reinforced with mixture of bisphenol‐A epoxy resin and dimethyl aniline hardener as matrix using the vacuum bagging approach. Enhanced mechanical qualities are the result of increased volume fraction of CuO nanostructures, where the void content is minimal. The mechanical characteristics such as impact strength and tensile strength of CuO‐coated WCF reinforced epoxy resin composite samples were assessed using drop‐down impact test and universal material testing system. The outcomes demonstrate a considerable improvement in impact energy absorption (74.8%), elastic modulus (52%) tensile strength (42%) and in‐plane shear strength (32%) for the CuO‐coated WCF reinforced epoxy resin composites. This work demonstrates that the development of CuO nanostructures can lessen composite delamination and enhance composite performance because of the increase in interfacial surface area between the matrix and the fiber by CuO nanostructures potentially expanding the spectrum of structural applications for these materials.