Two sided modification of wool fabrics by atmospheric pressure plasma jet: Influence of processing parameters on plasma penetration

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet can treat fabrics from one side and therefore the penetration of the plasmas to the other side of the fabric is critical for the successful treatment of the fabric which needs to be treated on both sides. In this study a wool fabric was treated under various treatment conditions such as different output power, different nozzle to substrate distance, different substrate moving speed and different treatment time to see how these processing parameters influenced the penetration of plasma through the fabric. After the plasma treatments, scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that the fiber surface morphological change occurred on both sides of the fabric; Fourier transform infrared spectrometry analysis showed an increase in number of polar groups on the fiber surface for both sides; the water absorption time was also greatly reduced. The treatment effects were enhanced when the output power and the treatment time were increased. When the fabric was too close (≤ 1 mm) or too far (≥ 6 mm) from the nozzle, the treatment was not effective to either side of the fabric. The treatment on both sides was most effective when the fabric was 2–3 mm away from the nozzle. The substrate moving speed did not affect the treatment results. Therefore adequate plasma processing parameters have to be carefully selected for the best results for treating both sides of the fabric.