Coatings for carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRPs) are increasingly obtaining attention in diverse applications including, automotive, aerospace, and construction due to their exceptional strength-to-weight ratios, durability, and stiffness. CFRPs must be protected from harmful environmental factors like moisture and UV light despite all of their advantages. Surface coatings offer a viable solution to protect against these external impacts by improving abrasion resistance and encouraging adhesion in multilayer systems. Among the many options for CFRP composites are polymeric, ceramic, carbonous, and metallic coatings; each is applied using a different method and has special advantages. To obtain optimal performance, a variety of elements, including the type of coating, the application method, and the surface pretreatment, must be considered depending on the intended purpose. With an emphasis on their mechanical, thermal, and interfacial properties through coating deposition, the paper gives a complete review of developments in CFRP composites. It discusses important discoveries, including nanomaterial coatings, combination pretreatment processes, and other imaginative solutions to performance improvement challenges. The development of multifunctional features for smart applications and the increase of CFRPs' heat resistance through thermal barrier coatings are also discussed in the paper. It is important because it shows how CFRP composites can improve sustainability and performance in a variety of industries and provides guidance for further research to maximize their characteristics and applications.