<i>In situ</i> growth of <scp>TiO<sub>2</sub></scp> nanoparticles onto <scp>PBO</scp> fibers via a mussel‐inspired strategy for enhancing interfacial properties and ultraviolet resistance
Lei Chen, Zhihua Li, Guangshun Wu, Peng Wang, Tao Wang, Zhi Li, Tonghua Zhang
Abstract
Abstract In this work, to overcome the poor interfacial adhesion and ultraviolet (UV) resistance of poly( p ‐phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fiber simultaneously, a new hierarchical reinforcement was fabricated by in situ growing titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles on the surface of the fiber using mussel‐inspired polydopamine (PDA) as a robust reaction platform. The surface morphologies and chemical compositions of the modified fiber were measured to prove the TiO 2 binding. The interfacial shear strength of PBO fiber‐reinforced epoxy resin composite had a 57.2% enhancement after TiO 2 modification, which was caused by increased surface roughness ( R a ) and wettability. In addition, the thermal stability of the fiber and hygrothermal aging resistance of the composite were improved remarkably. Moreover, the compact TiO 2 coating on the surface of PBO/PDA/Ti led to excellent UV resistance.