Modifications of Cotton Cellulose Surfaces by Use of Radiofrequency Cold Plasmas and Characterization of Surface Changes by ESCA

Abstract

Radiofrequency (rf) cold plasmas of argon, nitrogen, and air were used to modify cotton fabrics and yarns. Changes in surface characteristics were detected by application of the techniques of electron emission spectroscopy for chemical analyses (ESCA), electron spin resonance, and chemiluminescence. Examples of polymerization of selected monomers and depolymerization of chemically modified cottons within rf plasmas have been used to illustrate potentials of combinations of plasmas and ESCA in cellulose chemistry.

Improvements of surface functionality of cotton fibers by atmospheric plasma treatment

“…The O/C ratio of samples increased from 0.208 to 0.322 with the air plasma treatment and to 0.364 with the argon plasma treatment. These changes could be attributed to radical formations by bond breakage between C 1 and ring oxygen; C 1 and glycoside bond oxygen, dehydrogeneration and dehydroxylation between C 2 and C 3 after the ring opening of anhydroglucose of cellulose chains [24][25][26][27].…”

Surface and bulk chemical analysis of the durability of an easy care finish on cotton

“…The surface interface of textile fibres is important as it can influence many properties such as friction, wettability, adhesion, handle, colouration etc and in some instances is distinctly different in nature, composition and performance to the bulk of the fibre (Ward et al 1993). In the analysis of cellulosic materials X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used in establishing the distribution and concentration of non-cellulosic materials (Mitchell et al 2005;Buchert et al 2001;Johansson et al 1999) and in assessing the effectiveness of fibre surface modification in order to impart product enhancement for both (Carty and Byrne 1987) cellulosic and non-cellulosic fibres (Xu and Shyr 2001;Battistel et al 2001;Benerito et al 1981;Shekarriz et al 2003). While XPS has previously revealed an even distribution of DMDHEU throughout the cotton fabric (Soignet et al 1976), oil and water repellent finishes are reported to be deposited on the cotton fabric surface only (Soignet et al 1976;Benerito et al 1981).…”

Grafting of softwood kraft pulps fibers with fatty acids under cold plasma conditions

“…Cold plasma treatment in particular is an eco-friendly process that offers many advantages such as [1,2]: (i) it avoids the use of solvent (no chemical pollution), (ii) it can be applied as a continuous process, and (iii) it can be carried out under different controlled atmospheres, thus inducing a wide variety of physical and chemical changes yielding materials with various properties.…”

“…Among the research directions in this context, the cold-plasma treatment of wood [2,5] and cellulose fibers from different origins [6,7] has been employed: (a) to increase the wettability of the treated surface; (b) to increase the surface adhesion with different coating lacquers and binders; (c) to render the surface hydrophilic or hydrophobic, e.g. compatibilization of the material with non-polar matrices such as polypropylene; (d) to stabilise wood against weathering; (e) to induce grease barrier properties.…”