Effect of Surface Modification on Mechanical and Tribological Performance of Poly-p-phenylenebenzobisoxazole Fiber-Reinforced Polyimide Composite

This work examined the effect of coupling agent surface modification of Poly-p-phenylenebenzobisoxazole (PBO) fibers on mechanical and tribological performance of PBO fiber-reinforced thermoplastic polyimide (PBO/PI) composites. The results show that tensile strength and flexural strength are largely improved by coupling agent treatment. Under dry sliding conditions, coupling agent treatment is effective to reduce the wear of PBO/PI composite. The principle of improvement in interfacial adhesion between PBO fiber and PI matrix after coupling agent treatment was discussed. The surface characteristics of PBO fibers were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is found that the content of polar groups on the surface of PBO fiber treated by coupling agent increases compared with the untreated fiber. The presence of polar groups is probably leading to an increment of interfacial binding force between fibers and matrix in a composite system, and accordingly enhances the mechanical and tribological properties.