The effect of fullerene soot on polymer-metal adhesion in thermoplastic fiber metal laminates

The paper investigated the effect of fullerene soot (FS) additions into amorphous polysulfone (PSU) on its mechanical properties, adhesion to the pretreated surface of an aluminum alloy, and on the flexural properties of a PSU-based fiber metal laminate (FML). It was shown that even small additions of FS have a negative effect on polymer mechanical properties: a decrease in tensile strength and elongation to break; and the addition of more than 1% of FS led to the brittle fracture of PSU. At the same time, the addition of 0.5–1.0% FS increased adhesion between Al and PSU by 60–70%. Finally, it was shown that the use of PSU films filled with fullerene soot as an adhesive layer in an FML increases its flexural strength by 12% and elastic modulus by 20%.