journal article·2026-05Open access

Effect of femtosecond laser surface treatment on the interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and epoxy resin

Yuan-Chi Fan, Chung-Wei Cheng, Jia-Lin Tsai

Applied Physics A· Volume 132· Issue 5

Abstract

Abstract This study systematically investigated the effectiveness of femtosecond laser modification in enhancing the interfacial adhesion between carbon fibers and an epoxy matrix. Both sized and desized T700 carbon fibers were treated using a femtosecond laser at fluences of 0.34 J/cm² and 0.85 J/cm², enabling a clear assessment of the individual and combined effects of surface sizing and laser processing on fiber surface morphology, tensile properties, and interfacial shear strength. Surface morphology of the treated fibers was characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and interfacial adhesion was quantitatively evaluated through microdroplet tests. FESEM observations revealed that femtosecond laser processing generated ablation zones on the carbon fiber surfaces compared to the smooth surface of untreated fibers. The ablation length increases as the intensity of fluence increases. The microdroplet test results indicated that conventional sizing treatment alone increased the interfacial shear strength by approximately 10%. In contrast, femtosecond laser surface treatment resulted in a significant enhancement in interfacial shear strength of desized fiber up to 35.8%. Furthermore, when laser treatment was combined with fiber sizing, the interfacial shear strength improvement reached approximately 50%. These results demonstrate that femtosecond laser surface modification is an effective approach for enhancing interfacial adhesion between the carbon fiber and epoxy matrix.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Fiber-reinforced polymer composites · Mechanical Behavior of Composites · Laser Material Processing Techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

References (48)

Show source-provided references
1. C. Leone, S. Genna, Effects of surface laser treatment on direct co-bonding strength of CFRP laminates. Compos. Struct. 194, 240–251 (2018)10.1016/j.compstruct.2018.03.096 ↗
2. X. Liu, G. Zhen, P. Chen, Effect of plasma treatment on high temperature interfacial properties of Chinese-made T800 CFRP. Compos. Interfaces. 31(7), 843–856 (2024)10.1080/09276440.2023.2298122 ↗
3. M.A. Minnicino, M.H. Santare, Modeling the progressive damage of the microdroplet test using contact surfaces with cohesive behavior. Compos. Sci. Technol. 72(16), 2024–2031 (2012)10.1016/j.compscitech.2012.09.009 ↗
4. X. Yao, X. Gao, J. Jiang, C. Xu, C. Deng, J. Wang, Comparison of carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide coated carbon fiber for improving the interfacial properties of carbon fiber/epoxy composites. Compos. Part. B: Eng. 132, 170–177 (2018)10.1016/j.compositesb.2017.09.012 ↗
5. F. Stojcevski, T.B. Hilditch, L.C. Henderson, A comparison of interfacial testing methods and sensitivities to carbon fiber surface treatment conditions. Compos. Part A: Appl. Sci. Manufac. 118, 293–301 (2019)10.1016/j.compositesa.2019.01.005 ↗
6. W. Hu, Y. Pan, M. Zhong, Z. Luo, Y. Wu, Advances in effects of carbon fiber surface modification on interface properties of carbon fiber composites. Compos. Interfaces (2025) 1–3110.1080/09276440.2025.2569937 ↗
7. X. Liu, Z. Wang, G. Zhen, B. Chen, X. Xiong, P. Chen, Influence of argon plasma treatment on interfacial performance of CFRP at high temperature. Compos. Interfaces. 32(1), 95–106 (2025)10.1080/09276440.2024.2375812 ↗
8. X. Qian, L. Chen, J. Huang, W. Wang, J. Guan, Effect of carbon fiber surface chemistry on the interfacial properties of carbon fibers/epoxy resin composites. J. Reinf. Plast. Compos. 32(6), 393–401 (2013)10.1177/0731684412468369 ↗
9. F. Stojcevski, T.B. Hilditch, T.R. Gengenbach, L.C. Henderson, Effect of carbon fiber oxidization parameters and sizing deposition levels on the fiber-matrix interfacial shear strength. Compos. Part A: Appl. Sci. Manufac. 114, 212–224 (2018)10.1016/j.compositesa.2018.08.022 ↗
10. L. Shi, L. Ma, P. Li, M. Wang, S. Guo, P. Han, G. Song, The effect of self-synthesized hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polymer interface layer on the properties of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy composites. Appl. Surf. Sci. 479, 334–343 (2019)10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.02.090 ↗
11. L. Yang, S. Jiang, Y. Chen, C. Li, Z. Xu, Q. Ni, Effect of multi-scale film interfaces on CFEP composite mechanical properties based on magnetron sputtering technology. Diam. Relat. Mater. 139, 110355 (2023)10.1016/j.diamond.2023.110355 ↗
12. F. Yang, J. Ye, Y. Liu, J. Zhang, C. Chai, L. Feng, Carbon fiber modification with CaCO3 nanoparticles by microwave-assisted approach for composite reinforcement. Polym. Eng. Sci. 65(8), 4431–4439 (2025)10.1002/pen.70014 ↗
13. Q. Zhao, Z. Lu, Y. Wu, W. Zhao, Designing strong interfacial adhesion between carbon fiber and epoxy resin via dopamine towards excellent protection ability under high hydrostatic pressure and severe erosion corrosion condition. Compos. Sci. Technol. 217, 109090 (2022)10.1016/j.compscitech.2021.109090 ↗
14. T.-T. Yao, X.-F. Zhang, W.-S. Zhang, Y.-T. Liu, Q. Liu, G.-P. Wu, Controlled attachment of polycarbonate nanoparticles on carbon fibers for increased resin impregnation and interfacial adhesion in carbon fiber composites. Compos. Part. B: Eng. 224, 109218 (2021)10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109218 ↗
15. J. Wang, Z. Yu, S. Yang, Z. Wang, R. Ren, X. Xiong, Effects of argon plasma treatment on carbon fiber surface characteric and its reinforcing polyimide composites interfacial properties at room and elevated temperatures. Diam. Relat. Mater. 151, 111765 (2025)10.1016/j.diamond.2024.111765 ↗
16. J.-M. Yuan, Z.-F. Fan, Q.-C. Yang, W. Li, Z.-J. Wu, Surface modification of carbon fibers by microwave etching for epoxy resin composite. Compos. Sci. Technol. 164, 222–228 (2018)10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.05.043 ↗
17. L. Chen, L. Ma, S. Xiao, L. Li, Z. Shen, Y. Wang, M. Chen, Subsurface microstructural differences and mechanical behaviors of PAN-based graphitic carbon fibers during electrochemical treatment. Carbon. 242, 120417 (2025)10.1016/j.carbon.2025.120417 ↗
18. K. Li, J. Lu, Y. Deng, J. Xu, S. Sun, J. Hu, Mechanism of selective texturing of CFRP by femtosecond laser. Compos. Part. B: Eng. 291, 112000 (2025)10.1016/j.compositesb.2024.112000 ↗
19. M. Chen, B. Guo, L. Jiang, Z. Liu, Q. Qian, Analysis and optimization of the heat affected zone of CFRP by femtosecond laser processing. Opt. Laser Technol. 167, 109756 (2023)10.1016/j.optlastec.2023.109756 ↗
20. Y. Yuan, X. Guo, H. He, K. Zhang, W. Han, Rapid surface patterning to strengthen adhesive bonding of carbon fiber reinforced polymer by spatial shaping femtosecond laser. Opt. Laser Technol. 180, 111562 (2025)10.1016/j.optlastec.2024.111562 ↗
21. V. Oliveira, S.P. Sharma, M.F.S.F. de Moura, R.D.F. Moreira, R. Vilar, Surface treatment of CFRP composites using femtosecond laser radiation. Opt. Lasers Eng. 94, 37–43 (2017)10.1016/j.optlaseng.2017.02.011 ↗
22. V. Oliveira, R. Moreira, M. de Moura, R. Vilar, Surface patterning of CRFP composites using femtosecond laser interferometry. Appl. Phys. A 124(3), 231 (2018)10.1007/s00339-018-1662-x ↗
23. C. Kunz, T.N. Büttner, B. Naumann, A.V. Boehm, E. Gnecco, J. Bonse, C. Neumann, A. Turchanin, F.A. Müller, S. Gräf, Large-area fabrication of low- and high-spatial-frequency laser-induced periodic surface structures on carbon fibers. Carbon. 133, 176–185 (2018)10.1016/j.carbon.2018.03.035 ↗
24. R. Sajzew, J. Schröder, C. Kunz, S. Engel, F.A. Müller, S. Gräf, Femtosecond laser-induced surface structures on carbon fibers. Opt. Lett. 40(24), 5734–5737 (2015)10.1364/OL.40.005734 ↗
25. Y. Song, S. Zhao, L. Jiang, H. Yu, X. Lin, G. Zhang, S. Feng, Numerical simulation and experimental investigations of ultra-fast laser-induced periodic surface structure on carbon fiber material. Surf. Interfaces. 73, 107518 (2025)10.1016/j.surfin.2025.107518 ↗
26. Toray Industries, Inc., T700S, Accessed Nov. 17,. https://www.toray.com.tw/. (2025)
27. P. Mannion, J. Magee, E. Coyne, G. O’connor, T.J.A.s.s. Glynn, The effect of damage accumulation behaviour on ablation thresholds and damage morphology in ultrafast laser micro-machining of common metals in air, 233(1–4) (2004) 275–28710.1016/j.apsusc.2004.03.229 ↗
28. D. ASTM, 3379–75; Standard Test Method for Tensile Strength and Young’s Modulus for High-Modulus Single-Filament Materials, ASTM International: West Conshohocken, PA, USA 75 (2000) 1–5
29. X. Wan, W. Wang, J. Liu, T. Tong, Estimating the sample mean and standard deviation from the sample size, median, range and/or interquartile range. BMC Med. Res. Methodol. 14(1), 135 (2014)10.1186/1471-2288-14-135 ↗
30. Truetime Industrial Corporation, Epoxy resin Curing agent,Epoxy resin Hardener,Epoxy resin Painting,. https://www.truetime.com.tw/product.html. (Accessed Nov. 27 2025)
31. M.-W. Lee, T.-Y. Wang, J.-L. Tsai, Characterizing the interfacial shear strength of graphite/epoxy composites containing functionalized graphene. Compos. Part. B: Eng. 98, 308–313 (2016)10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.05.001 ↗
32. M. Zu, Q. Li, Y. Zhu, M. Dey, G. Wang, W. Lu, J.M. Deitzel, J.W. Jr Gillespie, J.-H. Byun, T.-W. Chou, The effective interfacial shear strength of carbon nanotube fibers in an epoxy matrix characterized by a microdroplet test. Carbon. 50(3), 1271–1279 (2012)10.1016/j.carbon.2011.10.047 ↗
33. B. Yu, Z. Jiang, X.-Z. Tang, C.Y. Yue, J. Yang, Enhanced interphase between epoxy matrix and carbon fiber with carbon nanotube-modified silane coating. Compos. Sci. Technol. 99, 131–140 (2014)10.1016/j.compscitech.2014.05.021 ↗
34. S.-K. Kang, D.-B. Lee, N.-S. Choi, Fiber/epoxy interfacial shear strength measured by the microdroplet test. Compos. Sci. Technol. 69(2), 245–251 (2009)10.1016/j.compscitech.2008.10.016 ↗
35. A. Wada, H. Fukuda, Microbond test for the fiber/matrix interfacial shearing strength, ICCM12 Conference, 1999, p. 347
36. C. Chou, U. Gaur, B. Miller, The effect of microvise gap width on microbond pull-out test results. Compos. Sci. Technol. 51(1), 111–116 (1994)10.1016/0266-3538(94)90161-9 ↗
37. T. Yang, Y. Zhao, H. Liu, S. Xiong, Effect of sizing agents on surface properties of T800 Grade CF and thermal aging time on mechanical properties of T800 Grade CF/epoxy composites. Int. J. Polym. Sci. 2021(1), 4562560 (2021)
38. Y.-H. Liu, K.-K. Kuo, C.-W. Cheng, A.-C. Lee, Femtosecond laser two-beam interference applied to 4H-SiC surface hierarchical micro-nano structure fabrication. Opt. Laser Technol. 151, 108081 (2022)10.1016/j.optlastec.2022.108081 ↗
39. M. Huang, F. Zhao, Y. Cheng, N. Xu, Z. Xu, Origin of laser-induced near-subwavelength ripples: interference between surface plasmons and incident laser. ACS nano. 3(12), 4062–4070 (2009)10.1021/nn900654v ↗
40. J. Xiao, H. Li, M. Lu, Y. Wang, J. Jiang, W. Yang, S. Qu, W. Lu, Enhancing the interfacial shear strength and tensile strength of carbon fibers through chemical grafting of chitosan and carbon nanotubes. Polymers. 15(9), 2147 (2023)10.3390/polym15092147 ↗
41. X. Chen, K. Wen, C. Wang, S. Cheng, S. Wang, H. Ma, H. Tian, J. Zhang, X. Li, J. Shao, Enhancing mechanical strength of carbon fiber-epoxy interface through electrowetting of fiber surface. Compos. Part. B: Eng. 234, 109751 (2022)10.1016/j.compositesb.2022.109751 ↗
42. L. Yao, M. Li, Q. Wu, Z. Dai, Y. Gu, Y. Li, Z. Zhang, Comparison of sizing effect of T700 grade carbon fiber on interfacial properties of fiber/BMI and fiber/epoxy. Appl. Surf. Sci. 263, 326–333 (2012)10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.09.054 ↗
43. Q. Wu, M. Li, Y. Gu, S. Wang, L. Yao, Z. Zhang, Effect of sizing on interfacial adhesion of commercial high strength carbon fiber-reinforced resin composites. Polym. Compos. 37(1), 254–261 (2016)10.1002/pc.23176 ↗
44. P. Weng, V. Prasad, P.S. Rao, N. O’Dowd, N. Murphy, A. Ivankovic, G. Scarselli, Interfacial properties of carbon fiber-reinforced biobased resin composites by single fiber fragmentation, fiber push‐out, and interlaminar shear strength. Polym. Compos. 45(4), 3355–3369 (2024)10.1002/pc.27995 ↗
45. Q. Zhang, G. Wu, F. Xie, N. Li, Y. Huang, L. Liu, Mechanical properties of carbon fiber composites modified with nano-SiO2 in the interphase. J. Adhes. Sci. Technol. 28(21), 2154–2166 (2014)10.1080/01694243.2014.948949 ↗
46. C. Lu, S. Qiu, X. Lu, J. Wang, L. Xiao, T. Zheng, X. Wang, D. Zhang, Enhancing the Interfacial Strength of Carbon Fiber/Poly(ether ether ketone) Hybrid Composites by Plasma Treatments. Polymers. 11(5), 753 (2019)10.3390/polym11050753 ↗
47. Z. Dai, F. Shi, B. Zhang, M. Li, Z. Zhang, Effect of sizing on carbon fiber surface properties and fibers/epoxy interfacial adhesion. Appl. Surf. Sci. 257(15), 6980–6985 (2011)10.1016/j.apsusc.2011.03.047 ↗
48. J.J. Sha, J.X. Dai, J. Li, Z.Q. Wei, J.M. Hausherr, W. Krenkel, Influence of carbon fiber’s surface state on interlaminar shear properties of CFRP laminate. Compos. Interfaces. 20(8), 543–552 (2013)10.1080/15685543.2013.813188 ↗