Helium/oxygen atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment for hydrophilicity improvement of grey cotton knitted fabric

► The influence of He/O2 atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment on the hydrophilicity of grey cotton fabrics. ► We observed that the ability of helium/oxygen APPJ directly etching the waxy layer and modifying the surface properties of grey cotton fabric was deficient, dewaxing process prior to plasma treatment was the key step to achieve the hydrophilic surface. ► We analyzed the mutual epiphytic relationship between pectins and waxes in the cuticle layer by plasma-aided.