Ultrafast deposition of polydopamine for high-performance fiber-reinforced high-temperature ceramic composites

Yingjun Liu; Cheng Su; Yufei Zu; Xiaopeng Chen; Jianjun Sha; Jixiang Dai

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-24971-3

Ultrafast deposition of polydopamine for high-performance fiber-reinforced high-temperature ceramic composites

Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 28;12(1):20489. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-24971-3.

Authors

Yingjun Liu¹, Cheng Su², Yufei Zu^{2

3}, Xiaopeng Chen², Jianjun Sha^{4

5}, Jixiang Dai^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Aerospace Vehicles of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China. 634144110@qq.com.
² Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Aerospace Vehicles of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China.
³ State Key Lab. of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Aerospace Vehicles of Liaoning Province, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China. jjsha@dlut.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Lab. of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People's Republic of China. jjsha@dlut.edu.cn.

Abstract

The low deposition time efficiency and small thickness limit the expansion of polydopamine (PDA) application to fiber-reinforced high-temperature ceramic composites. In this work, the electric field-assisted polymerization (EFAP) route was developed to improve the deposition time efficiency of PDA coating and overcome the thickness limitation. Carbonized polydopamine (C-PDA) coating was used as the interphase of carbon fiber-reinforced ZrB₂-based composites (C_f/ZrB₂-based composite) to bond rigid fibers and brittle ceramics, where C-PDA coating was prepared by the carbonization of PDA coating. Firstly, uniform and dense PDA coatings were deposited on carbon fibers (C_f) by EFAP. The thickness of PDA coating reached the micron level (over 1800 nm) for the first time. Benefiting from the EFAP route promoting the oxidation process of dopamine (DA) and accelerating the aggregation and in-situ polymerization of DA and its derivatives on the surface of C_f, the deposition rate of PDA coating reached 5589 nm/h, which was 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the traditional self-polymerization process. By adjusting the EFAP parameters (e.g. DA-concentration, current, and deposition time), the thickness of PDA coating could be conveniently designed from nano-scale to micro-scale. Then, PDA coating was pyrolyzed to obtain C-PDA coating. C-PDA coating was well bonded on C_f without visible cross-sticking among neighboring fibers. C-PDA coating presented a layered structure and the thickness of C-PDA coating could be designed by controlling the thickness of PDA. C-PDA coating was used as the interfacial phase of the C_f/ZrB₂-based composite, which ensured that the composite possessed good load-bearing capacity and thermal stability. Moreover, extraordinary damage resistance of the composite was achieved, with work of fracture up to 9936 ± 548 J/m² at room temperature and 19,082 ± 3458 J/m² at 1800 °C. The current work provides a high time efficiency processing route for depositing PDA coating on carbon fibers and demonstrates the attractive potential of PDA coating in fiber-reinforced high-temperature ceramic composites.

Abstract

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