Toughened carbon fiber fabric-reinforced pCBT composites

Toughened carbon fiber-fabric reinforced polymerized cyclic butylene terephthalate (pCBT) composites were obtained by chemical modification of cyclic butylene terephthalate (CBT) with small amounts of epoxy resin and isocyanates as chain extenders. Homogeneous CBT/epoxy and CBT/isocyanate blends were prepared by melt blending the components in a lab-scale batch mixer at low temperatures and high shear rate. Melt blending was stopped before the ring-opening polymerization of CBT could start. The modified CBT was the starting material for carbon fiber fabric-reinforced pCBT composites (fiber content at about 65 wt%) which were prepared by ring-opening polymerization during compression molding using a simple powder prepreg method. Interlaminar shear strength, flexural strength, and failure strain of the chemically modified composites increased up to 60% with respect to unmodified pCBT composites. Nevertheless, the flexural moduli slightly decreased due to the toughening effect of the chain extender on the pCBT matrix. Drop weight impact tests revealed that the energy absorption of the modified composites was relatively higher as compared to unmodified pCBT composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:1453-1460, 2016. (c) 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers