Effects of gas composition during plasma modification of polyester fabrics

In order to increase the hydrophilicities and to improve dyeability, poly(ethylene terephathalate) (polyester) fabrics were treated in low pressure and temperature plasma. Different plasma atmosphere were used in this work, leaving the gas type (oxygen, nitrogen, methane and hydrogen) as plasma variables, other parameters like pressure, exposure time, voltage and current were not variables in the process. After plasma treatment, the properties of the fabric, including surface morphology and chemical alteration, were investigated. The polyester fabrics treated with different plasma gases exhibited different morphological changes. The capillary method was applied to evaluate the improvement in water uptake of polyester fabrics, which indicated a good wettability to all atmospheres used in this work, except for a mixture containing methane, hydrogen and nitrogen. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.