Injection molding of short carbon fiber (sCF)-reinforced thermoplastic composites onto continuous carbon fiber (cCF)-reinforced thermoplastic substrates has emerged as an advanced approach for the rapid manufacturing of aerospace components with complex geometries. However, the interfacial strength of overmolded joints is often constrained by insufficient molecular interdiffusion across the interface during molding. To overcome this limitation in carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (CF/PEEK) systems, a low-melting-point polyaryletherketone (LM-PAEK) resin interlayer (eRL) was co-consolidated onto the cCF/PEEK substrate prior to overmolding with sCF/PEEK, enabling the fabrication of T-shaped joints with enhanced interfacial integrity. Crucially, theoretical analysis based on a healing degree model revealed that the LM-PAEK interlayer enables substantial polymer chain diffusion (37.4 % healing degree) even without substrate preheating, whereas bare CF/PEEK exhibits negligible bonding (0 % healing) under the same conditions. Mechanical testing revealed that the incorporation of the eRL significantly increased bond strength, with average pull-off and lateral bending strengths improving by 62.9 % and 61.8 %, respectively, at the optimal substrate preheating temperature of 390 °C. Notably, effective interfacial bonding between the sCF/PEEK and cCF/PEEK composites was also achieved without substrate preheating. Moreover, further optimization of interfacial mechanical properties was accomplished by tailoring the interfacial area and eRL thickness. Overall, these results demonstrate that the introduction of an LM-PAEK interlayer provides a robust and efficient strategy for strengthening overmolding interfaces in thermoplastic composites, delivering both superior mechanical performance and enhanced processing flexibility.
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