Influence of non-thermal plasma treatement on the adsorption of a stimuli-responsive nanogel onto polyethylene terephthalate fabric

Abstract

This paper presents an in-depth study of the surface modification of polyethylene terephthalate fabric (PET) with non-thermal plasma and temperature- and pH-responsive nanogel (PNCS) to impart smart thermoregulation properties. To increase the adsorption of the PNCS nanogel onto the PET, ammonia and oxygen plasma and a combination of both plasma gases were used. Chemical changes caused by the plasma treatment were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), morphological changes were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the swelling and de-swelling ability was determined by measuring the moisture content at 20 and 40 °C. The greatest deposition of the PNCS nanogel, with unimpaired swelling ability, was found on the oxygen-plasma-treated samples, as they had the highest O/C ratio. Meanwhile, the least promising results were found for the samples treated with a combination of oxygen and ammonia plasma, where the highest concentration of nitrogen was present on the fibre surface. Since the treatment with oxygen plasma proved to be the most effective method, different exposure times to the oxygen plasma, namely, 10, 30 and 60 s, were studied in the second part of this study. The optimal oxygen plasma treatment time was found to be 30 s, where the greatest deposition and unhindered swelling/de-swelling ability of the PNCS nanogel on the PET fabric was achieved.