Abstract
The aim of the study was to modify the surface free energy (SFE) of meta- (mAr) and para-aramid (pAr) yarns by their activation in low-pressure air radio frequency (RF) (40 kHz) plasma and assessment of its impact on the properties of the yarns. After 10 and 90 min of activation, the SFE value increased, respectively, by 14% and 37% for mAr, and by 10% and 37% for pAr. The value of the polar component increased, respectively by 22% and 57% for mAr and 20% and 62% for pAr. The value of the dispersion component for mAr and pAr increased respectively by 9% and 25%. The weight loss decreased from 49% to 46% for mAr and 62% to 50% for pAr after 90 min of activation. After 90 min, the specific strength for mAr did not change and for pAr it decreased by 40%. For both yarns, the 10 min activation in plasma is sufficient to prepare their surface for planned nanomodification.
Highlights
Aromatic polyamides, meta- and para-aramid, due to their properties, such as thermal and mechanical resistance [1,2], high thermal conductivity, and hydrophobicity, are widely used in many industries, such as aviation, ballistics, or special clothing production
The fibers surface of unmodified meta-aramid and para-aramid yarns are smooth with visible longitudinal cracks and fibrils [6,15]
In our previous work [15], we found a decrease in weight loss for meta- and para-aramid fabric
Summary
Meta- and para-aramid, due to their properties, such as thermal and mechanical resistance [1,2], high thermal conductivity, and hydrophobicity, are widely used in many industries, such as aviation, ballistics, or special clothing production. Aramid surface treatment techniques, such as mechanical, chemical, and plasma treatment are used to improve the adhesion of composite products [3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. Problems related to environmental pollution have limited the wide industrial applications of chemical surface treatment [3]. Plasma for a wide range of polymers allows the formation of oxygen functional groups on the surface [6,7,10] During this kind of treatment, two processes occur simultaneously: etching of the polymer surface [8,11,12,13] by the reaction of free radial species created from water vapor together with atomic oxygen with carbon atoms and the creation of active polar functional groups [5]. Plasma processing involves modification of only the outermost atomic layers without affecting their mechanical properties [4], increase the surface free energy and its dispersive
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