Textile performance of polyester, nylon 6 and acetate fabrics treated with atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Abstract

Three synthetic textiles, polyester, nylon 6 and acetate fabrics, were treated by atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) jet with nitrogen gas. From the contact angle measurements using a single fiber, the wettability and the base parameter of surface free energy of the three fibers were found to increase drastically after the APP treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy showed that the APP exposure increased the oxygen concentration and the roughness, respectively, for any fiber surface. It was confirmed from the stress-strain behavior and the visible reflection spectrum that the APP impact damage was negligibly small for any fabric. The increase in hydrophilic nature of the fiber surface resulted in promoting water wicking and soil release by laundering. Moreover, the color strength of the polyester and acetate fabrics dyed with disperse dyestuff was found to increase mainly by the topographical change in the fiber surface. Such improvement of textile performances by the APP treatment was remarkable for the polyester fabric.