The Effect of Argon Cold Plasma on Water Absorption of Cotton

Abstract

Cotton printcloth was treated with low-temperature, low-pressure argon plasma created by passing argon gas through a radiofrequency electric field of 13.56 MHz. Fabrics were exposed to plasma for 0–90 min. Pressure was maintained at 100 millitorrs and RF power at 40 watts. Plasma-treated cottons wetted readily and uniformly with water and aqueous dye solutions. Loss of weight on relatively long plasma treatment was greater than that due to usual removal of moisture under reduced pressure. Spectral changes observed by x-ray photoelectron-emission spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy indicated surface oxidation of the cotton, and electron-spin-resonance spectra showed presence of free radicals. Although surface oxidation occurred, gross topographical changes of the cotton surface were not evident, even when viewed under the scanning electron microscope. The rate of wetting of argon-activated cotton was significantly greater than it was prior to plasma treatment. At comparable immersion times the amount of water wicked into an argon-activated cotton fabric was about twice that taken up by untreated material. The rate of drying was also faster after plasma treatment.

Effect of plasma treatment on the structure and allied textile properties of mulberry silk

“…The loss of weight of water (g/gm fabric) for successive time intervals was measured and was defined as the drying rate. 13 (D) Crease recovery angles of the fabric before and after the treatment were measured using a Shirley crease recover tester.lg…”

“…[6][7][8] In the case of synthetic textile materials, it has been shown that plasma treatment improves their dyability, antisoil property, and water repellency?-" which has been tried even on an industrial scale. 12 Jung et al 13 have studied the effect of argon plasma treatment on cotton fabric surface. It has been shown that water absorption of cotton is enhanced by the treatment.…”

Characterization and use of radio frequency plasma‐activated natural polymers

“…6 Precautions were taken to ensure that irradiated samples were exactly 50 mg each and that they were centrally located in the reactor Fig. 1.…”

“…6 Chemiluminescence was measured with a Packard 3255 liquid scintillation spectrometer equipped with low dark-noise photomultiplier tubes (RCA 4501/4V) and a Packard 585 linear recorder.…”

“…to modify the surfaces of natural p0lymers,3-~ and to improve the wettability of cotton fabric. 6 It was recently reported that rf plasma produced macroradicals on threads of regenerated cellulose and caused its degree of polymerization to decrease and its solubility in weak base to i n~r e a s e .~ A mechanism of radical formation based on similarity to irradiation by 6OCo was proposed.s This report concerns the use of rf-generated argon plasma to produce reactive sites in a group of cellulose or starch materials. Each compound within the model group has one or more anhydroglucose units (agu) with glycosidic bonds between the units.…”