Application of Plasma Technology in Textiles

Hydrophilic enhancement for improving wetting and dyeing.

Hydrophilic enhancement for improving adhesive bonding

Removing the surface hairiness in yarn.

Scouring of cotton, viscose, polyester and nylon fabrics.

Anti-bacterial fabrics by deposition of silver particles in the presence of plasma.

Room-temperature sterilization of medical textiles.

Desizing
Plasma technology can be used to remove PVA sizingmaterial from cotton fibers. In conventional desizing process we use chemicals and hot water to remove size. But desizing with plasma technology we can use either O2/He plasma or Air/He plasma.

Firstly the treatment breaks down the chains of PVA making them smaller and more soluble. X-ray photoelectron microscopy results reveal that plasma treatment introduces oxygen and nitrogen groups on the surface of PVA which owing to greater polarity increase the solubility of PVA.

Of the two gas mixtures that were studied, the results also indicate that O2/He plasma has a greater effect on PVA surface chemical changes than Air/He plasma.

Water Repellent Finishing on Cotton
The literature on water-repellency and waterproofing is frequently confusing, because the repellency effect observed depends upon the test method and the test conditions used.

• The term ‘water-repellent’ is actually a relative term because there is always some attraction between a liquid and a solid with which the liquid is in contact.
  


• The term ‘waterproof’ is normally taken to represent the conditions where a textile material (treated or untreated) can prevent the absorption of water and also the penetration of water into its structure.

Felting of Wool

• The process of felting involves relative movement of the fibers which may be caused either by mechanical rubbing or by a series of compression-extension operation.
  


• Under the influence of these intermittent forces of squeezing, twisting etc., the wet fibers migrate in a preferential root ward direction because of the DFE, and at the same time they tend to curve, loop and entangle with each other. This is the reason of Felting of Wool.

• This process is irreversible. Because of the anchoring effects of the entangling and the differential frictional properties of fibres.
  


• Crimpiness, flexibility and hygroscopic quality combined with delicacy of fibers, are the most important factors in felting.
  


• Felting is a complex process, and the felting capacity depends not only on the inherent properties of wool, but also on the conditions of the felting process.

Anti Felting Treatment on Wool by Plasma Technology
Plasma treatment of wool fibers has shown to reduce this curling effect by etching off the exocuticle that contains the disulfide linkages which increase cross linking and contribute towards shrinkage. This procedure also enhances wetability by etching off the hydrophobic epicuticle and introducing surface polar groups.The increase in surface area of the fiber, recorded with atomic force microscopy, is increased from 0.1m2/g to 0.35m2/g. These physio chemical changes degrease the felting/shrinkage behavior of wool from more than 0.2g/cm3 to less than 0.1g/cm3.