Excellent Adhesion of Carbon Fibers to Polyurethane Matrix and Substantial Improvement of the Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane

In this study, polyurethane-carbon fiber composites were prepared with excellent interface with perfect adhesion of carbon fibers with the polyurethane matrix. The polyurethane was thermoplastic polyurethane and the carbon fiber was polyacrylonitrile based with 7 micron meter thickness. The composites were prepared with solvent casting technique. The composite materials were characterized with tensile testing, dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscope, and thermogravimetric analysis. The excellent adhesion of the carbon fibers in the polyurethane matrix was observed with scanning electron microscopy investigations. This adhesion creates huge improvements in the mechanical properties of the polyurethane. 300 % improvement in tensile strength was achieved with very low percentages of the carbon fiber such as 3 wt %. The hydrophilicity of the polyurethane matrix was confirmed with water contact angle measurements that led to better interaction.