Carbon fibre reinforced polypropylene composites with plasma treated constituent materials

Abstract

In this study, polypropylene (PP) powder and short carbon fibres (CFs) were subjected to oxygen plasma treatment (OPT) and subsequently used to fabricate injection moulded CF reinforced polypropylene composites (CFRPP) with 10 wt-% fibre content. Evidence from various experiments showed the effectiveness of the OPT method in enhancing the wettability and adhesion characteristics of PP and CF. The tensile modulus of CFRPP composites with the OPT was 4700 MPa as compared with a value of 3000 MPa for untreated samples. The SEM fractography showed that the fibre–matrix interfacial adhesion enhanced with the OPT as evident from strong adherence of CF to PP matrix. In general, the ductility of composites with the OPT somewhat reduced compared with control samples.

Keywords:

• Polymer–matrix composites
• Fibre–matrix adhesion
• Plasma treatment
• Mechanical testing