Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of textiles using non-polymerising gases

Surface modification of textiles by plasma treatment for imparting certain desired properties in terms of wettability, adhesion promotion, surface energy improvement and host of other characteristics has been the subjects of interest to researchers in the last few years. The plasma technology for textiles has emerged from conceptual embryonic stage to growth stage, where considerable research is yet to be carried out to translate the potential into industrial reality. This review aims at reporting the current status of the atmospheric pressure plasma technology in surface treatment of textiles, its effect on certain properties and the techniques used for characterisation of plasma-treated textile materials. The review paper also covers the studies carried out so far on the effect of atmospheric pressure plasma generated from non-polymerising gases like helium, argon, air, oxygen and nitrogen on the surface properties of both natural as well as synthetic textiles along with the changes in chemical and morphological characteristics of plasma-treated textile material using different qualitative and quantitative characterisation techniques, such as measurement of wicking height, contact angle, surface energy, SEM, AFM, FTIR and XPS.