A study on mechanical interfacial properties of copper-plated carbon fibers/epoxy resin composites

In this work, the electroplating of copper was introduced on PAN-based carbon fibers for the enhancement of mechanical interfacial strength of carbon fibers-reinforced composites. The surface properties of carbon fibers were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and contact angle measurements. Its mechanical interfacial properties of the composites were studied by interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and critical stress intensity factor (KIC). From the results, it was found that the mechanical interfacial properties of Cu-plated carbon fibers-reinforced composites (Cu-CFRPs) enhanced with increasing the Cu plating time, Cu content and COOH group up to Cu-CFRP-30. However, the mechanical interfacial properties of the Cu-CFRPs decreased dramatically in the excessively Cu-plated CFRPs sample. In conclusion, the presence of Cu particles on carbon fiber surfaces can be a key factor to determine the mechanical interfacial properties of the Cu-CFRPs, but the excessive Cu content can lead the failure due to the interfacial separation between fibers and matrices in this system.