Improved interfacial bonding strength of silicone rubber/carbon fiber modified by dopamine

A kind of silicone rubber (SR)/carbon fiber (CF)@polydopamine (PDA) flexible composites were prepared in this work. CF was modified by oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine (DA), and the effect of DA concentration on properties of SR/CF@PDA composites was researched. The transverse fiber bundle tests have shown that SR/CF@PDA-1.5 has the best interfacial bonding performance. Compared with SR/CF, tensile strength and elongation at break of SR/CF@PDA-1.5 were increased by 61.7% and 68.4%, respectively. Results indicate that the interfacial bonding of SR/CF@PDA composites was effectively improved due to the adhesion properties of PDA. Moreover, the rough surface of CF@PDA also enhanced the interface interaction through physical interlocking. When being compared to other surface modification process, dopamine-modified carbon fiber is cost effective, green and highly efficient. SR/CF@PDA with an excellent interfacial bonding and flexibility is a kind of wrapping material for protection of special precision instruments.

Automated summary

Silicone rubber/carbon fiber@polydopamine flexible composites were prepared in this study, and the interface bonding performance was improved through dopamine modification. Compared to the unmodified composites, the modified composites showed significantly improved tensile strength and elongation at break. Dopamine-modified carbon fiber is cost effective, green and highly efficient.