Influence of aging behavior of Armos fiber after oxygen plasma treatment on its composite interfacial properties

This work concerns the aging behavior of Armos fiber and Armos fiber reinforced poly (phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK) composite after oxygen plasma treatment. Armos fiber surface chemical composition, surface morphology and roughness, and surface wettability as a function of storage time in air after oxygen plasma treatment were measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and dynamic contact angle analysis (DCAA) system, respectively. The fiber surface aging behavior could be detected obviously in chemical composition and surface wettability, whereas the surface morphology and roughness remained nearly stable after storing in air as long as 10 days after oxygen plasma treatment. The effects of surface aging behavior after oxygen plasma treatment on Armos fiber reinforced PPESK composite interfacial properties were evaluated by interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) test and humid resistance measurement. It was found that the values of ILSS reduced and the composite humid resistance properties decayed. The polar functional groups that were reoriented from the surface into the bulk of the fibers or moved away from the fiber surfaces, maybe responsible for the weak interfacial strength between the fiber and the matrix in composite system.