ABSTRACT
Tong Kuan Wang, Jean-Baptiste Donnet, and Jimmy C. M. Peng Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie and Universite de Haute-Alsace, Mulhouse, France Serge Rebouillat DuPont de Nemours InternationalS. A., Geneva, Switzerland
Carbon fibers are manufactured from various precursor materials, such as rayon, polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and pitches. The extent and nature of the porous structure and the surface area will, therefore, be largely dependent on the nature and morphology of the precursor material and the history of its manufacturing processes. Surface area is an important parameter that influences the interaction of a carbon fiber with the matrix materials and hence its behavior in a composite. The adhesion between matrix molecules and fibers is primarily affected by the surface properties of fiber, (e.g., its total surface area available for contacting with matrix molecules, its active surface area for forming chemical bonds with matrix functional groups, and the type and size of pores present in the internal surfaces) which could enhance the mechanical interlocking between fibers and matrixes [I]. It is important to have a better understanding of the surface properties of carbon fibers so they can be used more efficiently to improve the fiber/matrix adhesion and enhance the overall mechanical properties of composites.
