An analysis of effect of CO2 laser treatment on carbon fibre fabric

Abstract

The colour of carbon fibre fabric is black which limits its aesthetic properties. CO2 laser has been used for cutting carbon fibres. The impact of CO2 laser treatment to modify the surface of carbon fibre fabric is investigated in this work. Different combinations of laser process parameters, i.e., pixel time (110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190 and 200 mu s, with 10 mu s intervals) and resolution (70, 80, 90 and 100 dpi (dots per inch), with 10 dpi intervals), were used for treating carbon fibre fabric surface. Since the laser process is a surface treatment, contact angle measurement was used for evaluating the wetting property imparted after laser processing. The resistivity of the laser-treated carbon fibre fabric was measured to evaluate any effect on the original electrical property of the carbon fibre fabric. Moreover, surface morphology and functionality of laser-treated carbon fibre fabric were assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total internal reflectance (FTIR-ATR), respectively. SEM assessment was to examine the physical change in the carbon fibre surface after laser processing. On the other hand, the FTIR-ATR measurement can help to evaluate the chemical change in the carbon fibre surface after laser processing.