In order to increase the hydrophilicities, thereby to impart soil resistance and to improve dyeability, poly(ethylene terephatalate) (polyester) fabrics were treated in low‐temperature plasmas. Two alternative modifications were applied. Fabrics were directly treated in acrylic acid plasma in one investigation, while in the other they were first treated in argon plasma and then immersed in an aqueous acrylic acid bath. The plasma conditions (i.e. exposure time and discharge power) were changed to control the extent of plasma surface modification in the first approach, while the acrylic acid content and the incubation time were changed in the second procedure. The wettability, and therefore the dyeability and soil repellency, of polyester fabrics was significantly improved by both methods. The second method resulted in better dyeability and soil repellency in contrast to lower surface wettability.

Antibacterial activities of cotton and polyester/cotton fabrics treated with chitosan or chitosan/ DMDHEU have been investigated. The washing durability properties of the aforementioned fabrics were also studied. Another group of fabric samples produced from mature and immature cotton fibres were dyed with reactive dyes and the colour yields and colour differences of the dyed fabrics assessed. The surfaces of the treated and untreated cotton fabrics were observed by scanning electron microscopy to compare the morphology.

Knitted wool fabrics were treated with argon and air atmospheric plasma. Pilling, bursting strength, thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, air permeability, water vapor permeability and friction properties were investigated. The surfaces of untreated and plasma-treated wool fabrics were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy to compare the morphological changes. The outcomes showed that atmospheric plasma treatments affected the physical properties of wool fabrics such as thermal properties, water vapor permeability, air permeability and friction properties. While there was an increase in thermal resistance, water vapor permeability and friction properties; pilling tendency, bursting strength, thermal conductivity and air permeability values decreased.

Polyethylene terephalate (PET) samples were modified by Cu, C, Ti, and Cr implantation using a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) implanter. The ions were implanted at an accelerating voltage of 30 kV with a dose ranging from 1 × 1014 to 1 × 1017 ions/cm2. In the first part of this study, Cu ions were implanted to improve the electrical properties of PET woven fabrics, and in the second part, C, Ti and Cr ions were implanted to enhance the mechanical properties of PET membrane fabrics. After implantation, the results showed that the half-charge decay time of implanted fabric lessened to milliseconds, and the friction coefficient and wear loss values decreased significantly. The surface morphologies of the samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The changes in chemical structure were observed by IR spectra.

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