Layer-by-Layer electrostatic self-assembly silica/graphene oxide onto carbon fiber surface for enhance interfacial strength of epoxy composites

Incorporating nano-scale reinforcements onto carbon fiber (CF) surface is a promising approach to enhance the interfacial strength of epoxy composites. Herein, a hierarchical reinforcement (CF/SiO2/GO) was prepared through deposition silica (SiO2) and graphene (GO) onto CF surface by Layer-by-Layer electrostatic self-assembly (ESA) for the first time. The experimental results confirmed that the SiO2 and GO were successfully assembly, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated a uniformly coverage on the CF surface. After assembly with SiO2/GO of CF showed the surface roughness and wettability of CF increase obvious, which supplying strong mechanical interlocking between fiber and resin. Meanwhile, the interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of CF/SiO2/GO epoxy composites were 46.3% higher than Untreated-CF composites.