Effects of reactive and non‐reactive fiber coatings upon performance of graphite/epoxy composites

Abstract Interlayers of controlled composition and thickness were applied to commercial graphite fiber bundles by electrochemical copolymerization, and the impact and interlaminar shear strength of composites from these coated fibers were examined. Glycidyl acrylate/methyl acrylate copolymers represented coatings that were reactive to the epoxy matrix during curing; acrylonitrile/methyl acrylate copolymers represented non‐reactive systems. The reactive systems showed 10 to 30 percent simultaneous improvement in impact and interlaminar shear strengths, while the non‐reactive system failed at the interlayer‐epoxy interface and showed no improvement. There is an optimum interlayer thickness of 0.1 to 0.15 micron; the possible reasons are discussed. A detailed scanning electron microscope study illustrates how the structure of the composite fracture surface varies with the systematic changes in interlayer reactivity, composition, and thickness. Determination of the locus of failure is discussed. The observations are consistent with the mechanical property measurements.