Carbon‐Fiber Reinforced Plastics With Enhanced Strength Characteristics Based on Electrochemically Modified Carbon Fabrics and Reactive Matrices

ABSTRACT Carbon‐fiber‐reinforced plastics with enhanced strength characteristics have been developed based on surface‐modified carbon fabrics and an oligoester methacrylate binder reactive toward them. Under redox initiation conditions, the time to achieve the gel effect ranges from 27.1 to 45.6 min, and the volumetric shrinkage after curing ranges from 2.6% to 4.0%. The surface modification of the carbon fabric was carried out by electrochemical deposition of zinc from a 0.1 M zinc sulfate solution at a current density of 0.1 A/dm 2 . This preserves the fiber integrity while simultaneously achieving the formation of 3–8 μm particles on its surface, containing products of electrochemical oxidation and 11 wt.% Zn. Using the modified fabric and the developed binder, carbon‐fiber‐reinforced plastics were manufactured by the vacuum infusion method. Based on a modified fabric and a developed binder, carbon fiber reinforced plastics were manufactured by vacuum infusion. These composites are characterized by values of elastic modulus, ultimate stress under static bending, and interlaminar shear stress that are, respectively, 77%, 28%, and 62% higher than those of composites made using unmodified fabric.