Characterizing Polyester Fabrics Treated in Electrical Discharges of Radio-Frequency Plasma

Abstract

Polyester (PET) swatches are treated with an electrical discharge plasma of a reactive atmosphere (tetrachlorosilane) to graft chlorosilane groups, subsequently hydrolyzed to very hydrophilic hydroxysilane groups. The Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics (KES-FB), high resolution microscopy, and surface tension measurements are used to investigate the physical properties of the fabrics before and after plasma exposure. The results show that the surface parameters are considerably modified by the treatment.