Surface modification of carbon fibres with ammonium cerium nitrate for interfacial shear strength enhancement

An ongoing research focus in the carbon fibre (CF) field has been to identify a practical and more effective surface modification method for improving CF's interfacial adhesion and bonding capacity, which is vital for achieving high performance CF composites. In this research, carbon fibres were modified by using a new and facile treatment process in an aqueous solution of ammonium cerium nitrate (ACN) at a low temperature (20 °C–50 °C). The surface analysis results revealed that the ACN treatment imparted a combined effect of CF surface oxidation and cerium (IV)/(III) immobilisation on the oxidised CF surface through coordination bonds, leading to a significantly increased specific surface area, surface energy and surface reactivity. These new surface characteristics directly contributed to an improved CF interfacial adhesion and load transfer between the modified CFs and an epoxy matrix. The study demonstrated that under specified conditions, the new treatment method resulted in 304% increase in interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and 130% increase in interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) without any significant reduction in CF's mechanical properties. In comparison, the ACN modification yielded CFs with a much higher ILSS than the current industrial processes using electrochemical oxidation and sizing.