This study demonstrates the ability of functionalized chopped carbon fibers (CCFs) chosen from industrial waste to improve the thermo-mechanical properties of CCFs/epoxy composites. The defect sites onto the CCFs were created by their oxidation and the oxidized CCFs were covalently linked with siloxane functional groups to conceal their defects. The surface functionalization of CCFs was characterized by a simple chemical route, FTIR and TGA analysis, respectively. The surface morphology of functionalized CCFs showed the generation of highly dense networked globules. Epoxy composites filled with 0.5 wt% of siloxane attached CCFs (S-CCFs) showed a tremendous enhancement in storage modulus (∼376%) without sacrificing their thermal stability. Furthermore, the S-CCFs reinforced epoxy composites demonstrate a significant improvement in the tensile and fracture properties. Such enhancement in the mechanical properties can open up the scope for the utilization of CCFs as a potential cost-effective candidate for high-performance next generation structural composites.

这项研究表明，从工业废料中选择功能化的短切碳纤维（CCF）可以改善CCF /环氧树脂复合材料的热机械性能。CCF上的缺陷部位是通过氧化而形成的，氧化后的CCF与硅氧烷官能团共价连接以掩盖其缺陷。CCF的表面功能化分别通过简单的化学路线，FTIR和TGA分析来表征。功能化CCFs的表面形态表明生成了高密度的网状小球。填充有0.5 wt％的硅氧烷连接的CCF（S-CCFs）的环氧树脂复合材料，其储能模量（〜376％）显着提高，而不会牺牲其热稳定性。此外，S-CCFs增强的环氧复合材料在拉伸和断裂性能方面有显着改善。机械性能的这种提高可以开拓CCF的应用范围，将其用作高性能下一代结构复合材料的潜在成本效益高的候选者。