Preparation of high performance fluoroelastomers by modifying carbon fiber with PEI and fluorinated coupling agent

A novel functionalized carbon fiber (CF) grafted with polyelectrolyte polyethyleneimine (PEI) and trimethoxy(1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodecyl)silane (F 17 ) was constructed by combining chemical grafting with oxidation method. The desized CF was first oxidized in concentrated acid and then grafted with PEI and F 17 . The effect of CF modification on the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of fluoroelastomers (FKM) were systematically investigated. The results showed that the PEI and F 17 grafted CF shows the highest mechanical properties’ enhancement function. Compared with blank FKM, the tensile strength, Young's modulus, modulus at 100 % strain and hardness achieved a 173 %, 117 %, 310 % and 30 % increment, respectively. The compression set sharply reduced to 20.61 % and exhibiting excellent anti-compression properties. In addition, the thermal and electrical properties were also improved. Such a high-performance functionalized CF exhibits excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties enhancement function and own great potential in industry.