Amending the thermo-mechanical response and mechanical properties of epoxy composites with silanized chopped carbon fibers

This study demonstrates the ability of functionalized chopped carbon fibers (CCFs) chosen from industrial waste to improve the thermo-mechanical properties of CCFs/epoxy composites. The defect sites onto the CCFs were created by their oxidation and the oxidized CCFs were covalently linked with siloxane functional groups to conceal their defects. The surface functionalization of CCFs was characterized by a simple chemical route, FTIR and TGA analysis, respectively. The surface morphology of functionalized CCFs showed the generation of highly dense networked globules. Epoxy composites filled with 0.5 wt% of siloxane attached CCFs (S-CCFs) showed a tremendous enhancement in storage modulus (∼376%) without sacrificing their thermal stability. Furthermore, the S-CCFs reinforced epoxy composites demonstrate a significant improvement in the tensile and fracture properties. Such enhancement in the mechanical properties can open up the scope for the utilization of CCFs as a potential cost-effective candidate for high-performance next generation structural composites.