Grafting glycidyl methacrylate onto high-modulus carbon fiber by acid activation synergized with ionization radiation

The extreme chemical inertness of high-modulus carbon fiber (HMCF) makes its functionalization quite difficult. In this work, a new method was explored to grafted glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) onto the surface of HMCF combined acid activation with co-radiation grafting. Structural changes and surface morphologies were investigated in detail. GMA was successfully grafted on to HMCF after acid activation synergized with ionization radiation, and the grafting degree was calculated to be 22%. The O/C atom ratio, content of the oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface. After acid activation and grafting, the hydrophilicity is effectively improved, and it can be wetted by water with good dispersibility in water. The surface structure of the fiber became highly disordered after grafting GMA. Finally, the grafting mechanism was discussed. The carboxyl groups introduced by the acid activation should be responsible for the successful grafting of the HMCF. This work provides a new pathway to fulfill the modification of HMCF and will be beneficial for obtaining high performance HMCF composites.