Effect of dichlorodimethylsilane on plasma-treated cotton fabric

Cotton fabric was treated with dichlorodimethylsilane (DCDMS) solution by two methods. In the first method, the fabrics were directly dipped into DCDMS solution for different time intervals and in the second method, the fabric was first subjected to radiofrequency (RF) plasma treatment for different durations and optimized exposure power condition and then immersed in DCDMS solution. The physical properties of cotton fabrics, treated with DCDMS in the presence/absence of air plasma have been compared with those of the control fabrics. Changes in the surface morphology structure and composition were observed through scanning electron microscopy and attenuated total reflectance-IR. The change in colour parameters of the fabric due to the treatment was assessed by Dataflash 100 colour measurement spectrophotometer with colourtools QC 1.3 colour quality software. The water repellent property of untreated and modified fabrics was studied using AATCC test method 39 (1971). The effectiveness of the water repellent property was checked by washing the treated fabrics up to ten cycles.