Modified Carbon Fibers with Polyolefins Based on Surface Chain-Transfer Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization and Their Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

Abstract

In this paper, polyolefins were grafted to the surface of carbon fibers via surface chain-transfer ring-opening metathesis polymerization (SC-ROMP) to enhance the performance of carbon fiber/polypropylene (CF/PP) composites. The modification of carbon fibers via SC-ROMP was studied first to screen out the proper reaction conditions. The modified carbon fiber was mixed with polypropylene to afford the CF/PP composites. The mechanical properties of the CF/PP composites were then investigated. The morphology and mechanical property studies revealed that the modified carbon fibers afford considerable compatibility with polypropylene, and the composites’ tensile strength, storage modulus, and loss modulus are superior to those using commercial carbon fibers. Compared to the composite using commercial CF, the tensile modulus of the PP composite using polyolefin-grafted CF increased by 13.6%.