Amino graphene oxide/dopamine modified aramid fibers: Preparation, epoxy nanocomposites and property analysis

Dopamine modified aramid fiber (AF) surface was grafted with amino functionalized graphene oxide to improve the interfacial adhesive performance. The self-polymerized polydopamine (PDA) coating and subsequent amino GO grafting on the AF surface attributed to the increase in its surface roughness and surface-active groups. The functional groups, chemical composition and surface topography of unmodified and modified AF was investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The interfacial properties were analyzed by measuring interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of unmodified and modified AF embedded epoxy matrix. Further, the properties were tuned by optimizing the reaction temperature and concentration of ethylenediamine. The IFSS of AF/epoxy composites was increased by 34% after grafting amino graphene oxide.