Interfacial reinforced carbon fiber composites inspired by biological interlocking structure

Yufei Wang; Zhengzhi Mu; Zhiyan Zhang; Wenda Song; Shuang Zhang; Handong Hu; Zhe Ma; Liewei Huang; Dashun Zhang; Ze Wang; Yujiao Li; Binjie Zhang; Bo Li; Junqiu Zhang; Shichao Niu; Zhiwu Han; Luquan Ren

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.104066

Interfacial reinforced carbon fiber composites inspired by biological interlocking structure

iScience. 2022 Mar 12;25(4):104066. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.104066. eCollection 2022 Apr 15.

Authors

Yufei Wang¹, Zhengzhi Mu^{1

2}, Zhiyan Zhang¹, Wenda Song¹, Shuang Zhang¹, Handong Hu^{3

4}, Zhe Ma³, Liewei Huang³, Dashun Zhang⁵, Ze Wang^{1

2}, Yujiao Li¹, Binjie Zhang¹, Bo Li^{1

2}, Junqiu Zhang¹, Shichao Niu¹, Zhiwu Han¹, Luquan Ren¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China.
² School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China.
³ X Lab, Second Academy of CASIC, Beijing 100854, China.
⁴ School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
⁵ No. 55 Research Institute of China North Industries Group Corporation, Changchun 130012, China.

Abstract

Weak interfacial activity and poor wettability between fiber and matrix are known to be the two main factors that restrict the mechanical properties of carbon fiber-reinforced composites (CFRCs). Herein, inspired by high strength and toughness characteristics of wing feathers of Black Kite (Milvus migrans), natural hook-groove microstructure system (HGMS) and underlying mechanical interlocking mechanism were carefully investigated. Biomimetic HGMS based on dopamine-functionalized carbon fibers and ZnO nanorods were constructed successfully by a two-step modification method to enhance interfacial adhesion. Further, CFRCs featured with biomimetic HGMS were prepared by a vacuum-assisted contact molding method. Experimental results confirmed that flexural strength and interlaminar shear strength of the bioinspired CFRCs were effectively improved by 40.02 and 101.63%, respectively. The proposed bioinspired design strategy was proved to be flexible and effective and it was anticipated to provide a promising design approach and facile fabrication method for desirable CFRCs with excellent mechanical properties.

Keywords: Biomimetics; Composite materials; Materials characterization; Materials science; Materials structure.