Effect of Plasma Treatment on Water Absorbability of PP Nonwovens

Abstract

The surface of polypropylene (PP) nonwovens was modified by low-temperature plasma technology. Three factors influencing the plasma treatment, i.e. current, time and distance between nozzle and fabric surface, were studied by single factor experiments. The effect of hydrophilic modification of PP nonwovens was evaluated with water absorption. The variation of water absorption of PP nonwovens after plasma treatment was tested. The experimental results show that the plasma treatment can improve the water absorbability of PP nonwovens. The water absorbability increases with the increasing current, but decreases with the increasing distance from nozzle to fabric surface. With the increase of time, the water absorbability increases firstly then decreases.