Carbon fiber reinforced composites and method for making same

Abstract

A surface-modified carbon fiber composition comprising: (i) a carbon fiber having an outer surface, a width of at least 1 micron, and a length-to-width aspect ratio of at least 1000; and (ii) an amine-containing polymer coating bonded to the outer surface of the carbon fiber, wherein the amine-containing polymer contains at least one of primary and secondary amino groups. A method for producing the coated carbon fiber comprises: immersing an uncoated carbon fiber in an electrolyte solution containing a dissolved amount of an amine-containing polymer containing at least one of primary and secondary amino groups while the uncoated carbon fiber is connected to a negatively charged electrode and positioned adjacent to a positively charged electrode in the electrolyte solution to result in the electrodeposition of a coating of the amine-containing polymer on the uncoated carbon fiber. Also described herein are carbon fiber-polymer composites and methods of producing them.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.