Surface treatment of natural and synthetic textiles using a dielectric barrier discharge

In this work we present a study of the plasma treatment of woven commercial natural, synthetic and mixed fabrics, using a dielectric barrier discharge run in various environments (air, argon and nitrogen) at atmospheric pressure. The experiments were conducted to determine the effects of the operating parameters (dielectric layer make-up, discharge energy density gas flow, gas type and exposure time) on the measured changes to surface wettability, morphology and chemical composition. The consequences of the surface changes induced are outlined and discussed, with data derived from surface analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), wickability measurements and imaging using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). \ The behaviour of the woven textile polymers examined was found to be very similar, under DBD treatment, to that of thin-film variants of the same polymers. The surface properties, such as the wickability and the level of oxidation were increased markedly after treatment times of the order of fractions of a second, with minimal change, i.e. recovery, shown on ageing. For porous materials, such as the textile fabrics, rapid, efficient and simultaneous treatment (fractions of a second) of both sides of the sample was found to be ensured. Thereby the system regime used offers the attractive prospect of controlling the efficient modification of non-compact materials of various textures, porosities etc. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.