Abstract
In the first part of the study, dyed polyester fabric was treated with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma at 1 W/cm2 for 15, 30, 60 and 90 s. The wicking height, tensile strength and color of the control and plasma treated fabrics were measured. Results show that the fabric capillary increases with plasma treatment time up to 90 s. However, plasma treatment time longer than 60 s caused an obvious color change and decrease in tensile strength of fabric. Plasma contact time should be such that plasma can improve the hydrophilicity of the fabric and adversely affect the properties of the fabric as little as possible. Thus, the suitable plasma contact time should be less than 60 s. Based on these results, in the second part of the study, three different time levels (15, 20 and 30 s) were selected for plasma pretreatment of this fabric. The plasma-treated fabric was then padded with the flame retardant (FR) (CETAFLAM PDP 30), dried and finally cured at 190 °C for 120 s. The limited oxygen index (LOI) of FR fabrics and the vertical fire characteristics of FR fabric after being washed 5 times also were measured. Comparison of these results with those of FR fabrics without plasma pretreatment shows that plasma pretreatment improves the fabric’s flame retardancy and FR durability. Moreover, it also reduces the heat shrinkage of PET fabric due to high temperature curing. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the fabric after plasma treatment and FR treatment and the energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) spectrum of the fabric are consistent with the above results.
Highlights
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fiber has many desirable properties, such as high tensile strength, dimensional stability and resistance to many chemicals, that give it a wide range of applications
The Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) spectra of the samples after flame retardant (FR) treatment being washed for five cycles were used to clarify the results on the FR properties of the fabric
The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma pretreatment for dyed PET fabrics can be a suitable surface modification method to make subsequent functional finishing more efficient; (2) In this study, DBD plasma pretreatment at 1 W/cm2 for 15 s allowed the fabric wick height to increase to 12% in the warp direction and 24% in the weft direction
Summary
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fiber has many desirable properties, such as high tensile strength, dimensional stability and resistance to many chemicals, that give it a wide range of applications. Being a thermoplastic polymer, polyester melts decomposes readily and burns when heated due to its low flame retardancy [2]. The traditional approaches in imparting FR properties to the synthetic textiles, especially at the fiber stage, involve the addition of halogen and/or phosphorus-containing comonomers to the polymer structure during copolymerization [3]. Considering the adverse impacts of fiber stage finishing on the physical properties of modified textiles, a form of topical or surface finishing or post-treatments onto the fabric surfaces is commonly chosen for conferring the flame retardancy of synthetic textiles. The hydrophobic nature of polyester results in a relatively low chemical absorbance during the finishing treatment [4]. The traditional surface treatments commonly applied to PET fabrics are often chemical treatments [5]. The most common is the treatment of PET fabrics with strong alkalis in high concentrations and at high temperatures [6,7]
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