For a present study, woven type carbon fibers were surface-modified by oxygen plasma to improve adhesive strength between carbon fibers and epoxy. The change of hydrophilic properties by the plasma modification was investigated through the contact angle measurement and the calculation of surface energy of carbon fiber due to the oxygen plasma modification. FESEM and XPS analyses were performed to study the chemical and physical changes on the surface of carbon fibers due to the oxygen plasma modification. Pin-on-disk wear tests were conducted under dry condition using unmodified and plasma-modified carbon/epoxy composites to investigate the effect of plasma modification on the wear behavior of woven type carbon/epoxy composites. The results showed that the friction coefficient and the wear rate of plasma-modified carbon/epoxy composites were lower than those of unmodified carbon/epoxy composites, respectively. XPS analysis showed that new functional group of a carbonyl type was created on the carbon fibers by the O2 plasma treatment, which enhanced adhesive strength between carbon fibers and epoxy, leading to improve wear properties
