Modification of Polyester and Polyamide Fabrics by Different in Situ Plasma Polymerization Methods

Over the past decade there has been rapid exploration and commercialization of low-temperature plasma technology to improve the surface properties of polymeric materials without changing the bulk properties1−5. Increased attention has also been paid to improving several properties (i.e., wettability, water repellence, soiling, soil release, printing, dyeing and other finishing processes) of textile fibers and fabrics by plasma technology6−16. In most of these studies two major types of discharges have been considered, i.e., high frequency discharge (low pressure plasma) and low frequency discharge (corona discharge). Low-temperature plasma under atmospheric pressure was also applied by Wakida et al.. Plasma treatments for surface modification of textiles were performed by usually two main procedures, i.e., depositing plasmas and nondepositing plasmas. Depositing plasmas were usually applied by using saturated and unsaturated gases (e.g., fluorocarbons, HMDS, C2H4) or vapors (monomers) (e.g., acetone, methanol, allyamine, acrylic acid). Several reactive etching (i.e., Ar, He, O2, N2, F2) or nonpolymerizable gases (H2O, NH3) were used in nondepositing plasmas.