The surface of glass/epoxy composite material was embedded with carbon black which was dispersed in methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) during the curing process to enhance the adhesion strength of the glass/epoxy composite structure. The morphological effect of the carbon black on the surface of composite was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Quantitative chemical bonding analysis with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was also performed to observe chemical bonding states on the surface. The lap shear strength of the glass/epoxy composite adhesive joints where composite adherends were embedded with carbon black was investigated with respect to the type and amount of embedment. Also, the tensile properties of the carbon black embedded glass/epoxy composites were measured to observe the mechanical degradation of the composite due to the MEK. The surface free energies of carbon black embedded composites were determined from the van Oss-Chaudhury-Good equation to correlate the lap shear strength of the adhesive joints with the surface free energies of composite adherends. From the experimental results, it was found that the carbon black embedment of the composite adherend improved much the bond strength due to the increased surface roughness on nano-scale as well as increased surface free energy. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010