Synthesis of thermoplastic composites from carbon fibers treated by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII)

Abstract

This paper deals with synthesis of thermoplastic composites from CFs treated by PIII processing at different treatment times, 2, 5, 10 and 15 min. The characterization of CFs samples was carried out using the following analyses: SEM, XPS, AFM and Raman spectroscopy. After this previous characterization of the CF reinforcement, the thermoplastic laminate was produced using hot compression molding technology. The laminate was characterized by Interlaminar shear test (ILSS) and SEM analysis. After the PIII treatments there was an increase in the surface roughness and an introduction of the polar groups on the carbon fiber surface. These modifications enhance the adhesion in the composites interface as confirmed by ILSS tests that show up to double increase in the shear strenght in comparison to composites obtained from untreated CFs.