Impact behaviors of Ni-plated carbon fibers-reinforced epoxy matrix composites

In this work, two types of Ni-plating, namely electrolytical and electroless Ni-platings on carbon fiber surfaces, were carried out to enhance the impact resistance of composites. And the comparison between electrolytical and electroless methods on their impact properties of composite system was studied. The surface properties of carbon fibers were characterized using XRD, SEM, and contact angle measurements. The impact behaviors were investigated using an Izod type impact tester. As experimental results, it was observed that electrolessly plated Ni layers had Ni-P alloys on carbon fiber surfaces as revealed by XRD, and electrolytically Ni-plated carbon fibers showed higher surface free energies than those of the electrolessly Ni-plated carbon fibers. In particular, the impact strengths of electrolessly Ni-plated carbon fibers-reinforced plastics were strongly increased. These results were probably due to the difference of wettabilities according to the different types of Ni-plating methods.