Newly designed polydicyclopentadiene and its continuous carbon fiber composites: Preparation and mechanical properties assessment

In this work, the tackified PDCPD (PDCPD-T) specialized for vacuum assistant resin infusion process (VARI) was developed. The epoxy resin and methyl nadic anhydride (NMA) was subsequently added to the PDCPD-T to improve the interfacial bonding with the carbon fibres. The results showed that the introduction of NMA-cured epoxy undermined the mechanical properties of the PDCPD-T owing to the agglomeration of the tackifier particles. Nonetheless, the mechanical properties of the CFRCs based on the co-cured blends of the PDCPD-T and the NMA-cured epoxy were comprehensively improved compared to the composites based on the PDCPD-T. The improvement was that a part of NMA-cured epoxy in the co-cured blends would phase separate on the surface of the carbon fibre, which formed the "bridge" connecting the matrix and the carbon fibre. In addition, the degree of the tackifier agglomeration would also decrease due to the decrease in the surrounding epoxy concentration.