Surface construction of ANF/CNT onto aramid fibers to enhance interfacial adhesion and provide real-time monitoring of deformation

To solve the poor interface between aramid fiber and rubber, this paper studies a method of constructing nanostructures on the fiber surface. First, functional groups such as hydroxyl and amino groups were introduced onto aramid fiber through the Michael addition of tannic acid and polyethyleneimine. Then, the modified aramid fiber was impregnated in the aramid nanofiber/carbon nanotube aqueous dispersion to prepare a surface-coated fiber. The fibers and surface nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermalgravimetric analysis, and H pull-out tests in detail. The results show that the H pull-out force of the coated fiber is increased by 126.4% compared with the original aramid fiber, which is due to the good mechanical interlocking at the interface of the composites. In addition, carbon nanotubes could form a conductive path through mutual entanglement and overlap on the surface of aramid fiber, which also gives the function of real-time monitoring of deformation of the composites.