Carbon Fibers and Their Composite Materials

Book excerpt: Carbon fiber is an oft-referenced material that serves as a means to remove mass from large transport infrastructure. Carbon fiber composites, typically plastics reinforced with the carbon fibers, are key materials in the 21st century and have already had a significant impact on reducing CO2 emissions. Though, as with any composite material, the interface where each component meets, in this case the fiber and plastic, is critical to the overall performance. This text summarizes recent efforts to manipulate and optimize the interfacial interaction between these dissimilar materials to improve overall performance.