Influence of Nonequilibrium Low-Temperature Plasma on the Properties of Nonwoven Fabric Based on Polypropylene

Abstract

Investigation of the effect of low-pressure NLTP in nitrogen, argon, propane-butane and air on the properties of a multilayer medical-purpose material based on polypropylene used for the manufacture of sanitary-hygienic and medical products. It is shown that after plasma treatment of argon, nitrogen, propane-butane, the surface polarity of the CMC material changes significantly, as evidenced by a decrease in the wettability angle and an increase in capillarity. The most significant changes in indicators are observed in the case of plasma treatment in argon and nitrogen. However, in the case of argon, less processing time is required to achieve the effect. Plasma treatment leads to a slight decrease in tensile strength, no more than 10-15%. It is also shown that when plasma is treated in an argon atmosphere, such characteristics of a nonwoven material as air permeability, hygroscopicity increase, and a decrease in rigidity is observed. The study of the structure of the material (pore size) showed that the treatment with NLTP leads to a significant decrease in the size of large pores and an increase in the size of medium and small pores