Effect of Fiber Surface State on the Thermomechanical and Interfacial Properties of in Situ Polymerized Polyamide 6/Basalt Fiber Composites

This study investigates the thermomechanical properties and interfacial adhesion of novel in-situ polymerized anionic polyamide 6 (aPA6) composites reinforced with basalt fibers (BF). The impact of different BF surface states - as-received (BFa), ethanol-washed (BFw), and thermally desized (BFu) − on composite performance is examined through a comprehensive approach. For the first time, anionic PA6/BF composites with very low residual monomer content were successfully produced via thermoplastic resin transfer molding (tRTM). The PA6/BFw composites exhibited the highest interlaminar/interfacial shear strength in short beam shear test (52 ± 8 MPa) and fiber push out test (34 ± 11 MPa) tests. Fiber microdebonding test, performed only on PA6/BFw, yielded a low interfacial shear strength (12 ± 4 MPa), which was attributed to droplet porosity resulting from concurrent polymerization and crystallization. Thermal desizing significantly deteriorated interfacial strength (19.6 ± 1.2 MPa in short...