Bonding TiO₂ array on carbon fabric for outstanding mechanical and wear resistance of carbon fabric/phenolic composite

Uniform TiO₂ array growing onto the carbon fabric (CF) resulting in multiscale reinforcement (TiO₂-CF) was successfully carried out with hydrothermal method. The functions of the TiO₂ array on mechanical and wet tribological properties of the carbon fabric reinforced phenolic composite were investigated systematically. The surface characteristics, including the morphology and functional groups, of TiO₂-CF were evidenced by XRD, SEM, RAMAN, FTIR and XPS. The tensile strength and flexural strength of the composite reinforced by TiO₂-CF improved by about 85% and 41%, respectively, which owing to the outstanding interfacial adhesion between multiscale reinforcement and matrix. Further, the resulting composites exhibited higher and more stable friction coefficient and greater wear resistance compared with the composite reinforced by desized-CF. The composite reinforced by multiscale TiO₂-CF is highly promising for wet friction material.