Treatment of PET nonwoven with a water vapor or carbon dioxide plasma

Abstract

Gas plasma treatment of poly(ethylene terephthalate) nonwoven (NW-PET) was used to increase the hydrophilicity of single-and multilayer NW-PET. NW-PET was treated with a pulsatile CO 2 or with a pulsatile H 2 O glow discharge. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed significantly more oxygen with CO 2 glow-discharge-treated NW-PET than with H 2 O glow-discharge-treated-NW-PET surfaces. Moreover, the introduction rate of oxygen at a single layer of NW-PET was higher for a CO 2 than for a H 2 O glow-discharge treatment. Titration data revealed significantly higher surface concentrations of carboxylic groups for CO 2 glow-discharge NW-PET than for H 2 O glow-discharge-treated NW-PET. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the entire internal surface of a single layer of NW-PET was modified. XPS and contact measurements confirmed the modification of the internal surface of multilayers of NW-PET. H 2 O and CO 2 glow-discharge-treated substrates consisting of six layers of NW-PET had a nonuniform surface concentration of carboxylic acid groups as determined with titration experiments. The outside layers of the substrate contained a higher surface concentration of carboxylic acid groups than did the inside layers. XPS analysis and titration data showed that the rinsing of H 2 O and CO 2 glow-dischargetreated NW-PET with water changed the surface composition considerably. Part of the carboxylic acid group-containing species were washed off.

The Influence of Surface DBD Plasma Treatment on the Adhesion of Coatings to High-Tech Textiles

“…In addition, due to plasma treatment, the signal intensity ascribed to the C=O bonding decreased for the plasma treated surfaces. This is in contradiction to observations described in [26,34]. The O 1s spectra of the samples are narrower than that of the standard fabric (see Fig.…”

Surface characterisation of plasma-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate)

“…The need to control the surface characteristics of this polymer (e.g., its acid-base behaviour, hydrophilicity or biocompatibility) stems from specific requirements for given applications. Currently several approaches are being developed with this aim, including laser and UV radiation exposure, alkaline hydrolysis or plasma treatment [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Among the reported methods, the technique of gas-discharge low-temperature plasma modification is a particularly attractive way to modify the surface chemistry and morphology not only of PET but of polymeric materials in general [2,11,13].…”

Effects of oxygen and carbon dioxide plasmas on the surface of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

“…Unfortunately, as-prepared polymers seldom display the specific characteristics required for these applications, so that postproduction surface modifications are often needed. Usual modification techniques for specific purposes include treatments by flame, hot press, abrasion, plasmas, electromagnetic radiation, or ion beams [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Among these, plasma treatment is probably the most versatile way to modify the surface characteristics of polymers [13].…”