The analysis of Armos fibers reinforced poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) composite surfaces after oxygen plasma treatment

The effects of oxygen plasma treatment on both the fiber surface and interfacial adhesion of Armos fiber reinforced PPESK composites were investigated in this paper. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to analyze fiber surface chemical composition and surface roughness, respectively. The results indicated that oxygen plasma treatment had introduced a large amount of reactive functional groups onto the fiber surface and the fiber surface roughness was increased largely. The interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of the untreated and oxygen plasma-treated composites was measured to evaluate the interfacial adhesion. The values of ILSS were enhanced dramatically; the water molecule diffusion into composite along interface was prevented effectively. The composite fracture mode was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which showed that the primary failure mode varied from interface failure to matrix failure after oxygen plasma treatment. Results indicated that oxygen plasma treatment was an effective method to improve the interfacial adhesion properties of Armos fiber reinforced PPESK composites by both chemical bonding and physical effects.