The Effect of Low-Temperature Plasma on the Wicking Properties of the Textile Materials Based on Natural Cellulose Fibres.

Abstract

The effect of the plasma treatment on the wicking properties of the textile materials based on natural cellulose fibres (the cotton and flax yarn and the textile fabrics) is examined in order to explore the possibility of its application in finishing processes. The samples were processed in a plasma of a high-frequency capacity discharge under reduced pressure and the height of the capillary rise of water was determined. Processing of experimental results was performed by the method of regression analysis. The article describes the representative curves of the dependencies of the capillarity of the textile materials on the type of plasma gas, the duration and the power of the plasma treatment. It is found that the influence pattern of the plasma treatment parameters is similar for all considered textile materials. To reach the maximum values of the capillary rise of water for a dense material (including the yarn with a higher linear density), a longer-term effect and a greater power are required than for a rarefied material (the yarn with a lower linear density). The optimum ranges of the plasma treatment parameters are determined. For the cotton textile fabric W d = 1.2–2.0 kW, τ = 300–700 s, at G = 0.04 g / s, Р = 13 Pa. For the flax yarn W d = 0.8–1.8 kW, τ = 300–700 s at G = 0.04 g / s, Р = 13 Pa.