COMPOSITES SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ›› 2026, Vol. 0 ›› Issue (9): 51-59.DOI: 10.19936/j.cnki.2096-8000.20260928.006

• BASIC AND MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE RESEARCH • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preparation of sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone) sizing agent and its effect on CF/PEEK composites

CHEN Xiang1, LÜ Nan2, WANG Yonglin1, QIN Wenzhen1*, BAI Shulin3   

  1. 1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang 330063, China;
    2. AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Co., Ltd., Harbin 150060, China;
    3. Nanchang Innovation Institute, Peking University, Nanchang 330072, China
  • Received:2025-07-18 Online:2026-09-28 Published:2026-09-23

Abstract: Carbon fiber-reinforced poly(ether ether ketone) (CF/PEEK) composites exhibit broad application prospects. However, due to the inert surface and low wettability of CF, the weak interfacial bonding between CF and PEEK limits the performance enhancement of CF/PEEK composites. To address this issue, in this study a flexible polymer sizing agent-sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone) (SPEKC) is employed to modify the surface of CF. The surface morphology and structure of CF, as well as the interfacial and mechanical properties of the composites are investigated. Also, the interfacial reinforcement mechanism is analyzed. The results indicate that the sulfonic acid groups enhance the hydrophilicity and stability of the SPEKC sizing agent. The CF/PEEK composite modified with SPEKC-3 exhibits the best mechanical properties, with flexural strength and interlaminar shear strength reaching 1 232.61 MPa and 73.57 MPa, respectively, representing improvements of 14.8% and 6.2% compared to unmodified CF/PEEK composites.

Key words: carbon fiber, SPEKC, sulfonation, PEEK, mechanical properties

CLC Number: