To improve the interfacial performance of poly[p-phenylene benzobisoxazole] (PBO) fiber and epoxy resin, a modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-Ecp) were used to achieve this purpose through grafting onto PBO fiber surface using a gamma ray radiation method. Experimental results indicated that the equilibrium wetting rate and equilibrium adsorption amount of the modified PBO fiber for epoxy resin and acetone were all higher than that of as received PBO fiber. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of single fiber composite increased from 31.4 to 77.5 MPa after modification. The fracture models of composites are changed from pure interfacial failure to combination failure of interface and resin interlayer. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers

In this paper, γ-ray radiation technique was utilized to simply functionalize multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) with amino groups. The successful amino functionalization of MWCNTs (MWCNTs-Am) was proven and the physicochemical properties of MWCNTs before and after radiation grafting modifications were characterized using FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicated that the γ-ray radiation had the visible effects on the surface properties of MWCNTs. The effects of various functionalized MWCNTs on morphological, thermal, and mechanical properties of an epoxy-based nanocomposite system were investigated. Utilizing in situ polymerization, 1 wt% loading of MWCNT was used to prepare epoxy-based nanocomposites. Compared to the neat epoxy system, nanocomposites prepared with MWCNT-Am showed 13.0% increase in tensile strength, 20.0% increase in tensile modulus, and 24.1% increase in thermal decomposition temperature. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers

The aim of this article is improved the surface properties of Poly[p-phenylenebenzobisoxazole] (PBO) fiber with epichlorohydrin hybridized carboxylic multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-Ecp) grafting by using γ-ray irradiation technology. The surface chemical properties, the surface morphology, the amount of the grafted MWCNTs on PBO fiber and the surface free energy of PBO fibers have been analyzed. The results show that MWCNTs-Ecp have been grafted on the surface of PBO fiber by γ-ray irradiation treatment. The surface chemical inertness and the surface smoothness of PBO fiber are significantly improved by grafting MWCNTs-Ecp chains, the amount of the grafted MWCNTs on PBO fiber is about 11.9%, and the surface free energy of PBO fiber has an increase of 42.6% by generating some active groups such as COOH, OH, and CCl on the surface of PBO fiber. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011

In this article, we focus on the ultraviolet (UV) shielding efficiency for poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fiber with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle/epoxy hybrid coating. ZnO nano particles were initially functionalized with silicon coupling agent for improving their dispersion and surface reactivity, and then they were hybridized with epoxy resin by grafting on the ZnO nano particles. The hybrid reactions have been indicated by means of Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR). Its UV light shielding effect of the hybrid coating on PBO fiber properties has been studied using ultraviolet spectrum, tensile test, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results showed that the surface topographic, the surface polymer structure, and the tensile strength of coated PBO fiber were less declined than that of uncoated fiber by UV light. From these results, the nano-ZnO hybrid sizing had good UV-aging shielding efficiency for PBO fiber. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011