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Surface Modification of Non-woven Textiles using a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Operating in Air, Helium and Argon at Medium Pressure

Department of Applied Physics, Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Faculty of Engineering, Ghent University, Jozef Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Ghent, Belgium, Rino.Morent{at}ugent.be

Nathalie De Geyter

Department of Applied Physics, Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Faculty of Engineering, Ghent University, Jozef Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Christophe Leys

Department of Applied Physics, Research Unit Plasma Technology (RUPT), Faculty of Engineering, Ghent University, Jozef Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Ghent, Belgium

Léon Gengembre

Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide, UMR CNRS 8181, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Bât. C3, Cite Scientifique, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France

Edmond Payen

Unité de Catalyse et Chimie du Solide, UMR CNRS 8181, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Bât. C3, Cite Scientifique, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq, France

In this paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) non-wovens were modified by a dielectric barrier discharge in air, helium and argon at medium pressure (5.0 kPa). The helium and argon discharges contained a fraction of air smaller than 0.1 %. Surface analysis and characterization were performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, liquid absorptive capacity measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The non-wovens, modified in air, helium and argon, showed a significant increase in liquid absorptive capacity due to the incorporation of oxygen-containing groups, such as C—O, O—C=O and C=O. It was shown that an air plasma was more efficient in incorporating oxygen functionalities than an argon plasma, which was more efficient than a helium plasma. SEM pictures of the plasma-treated nonwovens showed that the hydrophilicity of the nonwovens could be increased to a saturation value without causing physical degradation of the surface. The ageing behavior of the plasma-treated textiles after storage in air was also studied. It was shown that during the ageing process, the induced oxygen-containing groups re-orientated into the bulk of the material. This ageing effect was the smallest for the argon-plasma treated non-wovens, followed by the helium-plasma treated non-wovens, while the air-plasma treated non-wovens showed the largest ageing effect.

Key Words: ageing • dielectric barrier discharge • medium pressure • non-wovens • surface modification

Textile Research Journal, Vol. 77, No. 7, 471-488 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0040517507080616


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