FABRICATION OF AL2O3-COATED CARBON-FIBER-REINFORCED AL-MATRIX COMPOSITES

Fine Al2O3 coating could be obtained from alumina sols modified by che lator acetylaceton, under exact control of the parameters. Al2O3 coati ng by the sol-gel method on the carbon-fiber (CF) surface was investig ated in detail to improve the oxidation resistance of CFs. Further stu dy focused on making the Al2O3-coated fiber reinforced aluminum compos ite prefabrication. XRD, IR, TG-DTA, and SEM methods were used to anal yze the alumina gels, the coated CFs, and the prefabrication. After th e coating treatment, the oxidation resistance of the carbon fibers is enhanced, the wetting between the fibers and melting aluminum is great ly improved, and the tensile strength of CF/Al prefabrication is heigh tened. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 177-183, 1998.