Influences of graphene oxide addition on mechanical properties of aramid fiber reinforced composites

Abstract

In this paper, the graphene oxide (GO) was prepared by the modified Hummers' method in advance, and the obtained GO was used as a kind of filler added into the epoxy resin (EP) system (including the EP and corresponding curing agent) with different contents (relative to the total weight of the GO-EP system hybrid) ranging from 0.1 to 0.4 wt% to improve the mechanical properties of the aramid fiber reinforced composites (AFRC) through the autoclave forming technology. Then, a series of mechanical properties of the AFRC were measured according to the relevant test standards. Results showed that partial mechanical properties of the AFRC, especially the interlayer property, changed with the different contents of GO. Nevertheless, the tensile strength and tensile modulus of the AFRC presented no obvious changes for different contents of GO. Overall, the matrix phase EP system modified by the GO played an important role in the interlayer toughness of AFRC without reducing its tensile property. This was because the addition of the small amount of GO could prevent the generation of stress concentrations caused by the gaps between the reinforcing phase aramid fibers (AFs) and matrix phase EP system owing to their poor bondings.