FAST AND EFFICIENT SURFACE TREATMENT FOR NONWOVEN MATERIALS BY ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE PLASMA

Plasma treatments can be used for the nano-scale surface modification of different materials including nonwovens. Penetration of plasma into solid matter is very limited, but it can penetrate into porous structures. Therefore plasma can be used to modify not only the outer surface, but also the surfaces of fibres within and the other side of the porous structure of nonwoven material. The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of continuous atmospheric plasma treatment for the modification of porous nonwoven materials. Firstly, the penetration of plasma through layered, porous samples, and secondly, the effect of the plasma exposure time on the surface properties and mechanical properties of the samples were studied. We found that the plasma penetrated through three nonwoven layers. It also seemed that the plasma was retained inside the samples for a while after initial exposure, thus increasing the effective exposure time. An increase of exposure time further by controlling line speed did not have significant influence on the efficiency of the treatment. The mechanical properties of the material were not prominently affected by the treatment. Our results suggest that it is possible to conduct two-sided plasma treatment on porous nonwoven materials as a continuous process with a speed feasible to be combined with conventional textile processing.