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Ageing effect of plasma-treated wool

journal contribution
posted on 2011-12-01, 00:00 authored by Maryam NaebeMaryam Naebe, R Denning, M Huson, Peter Cookson, Xungai Wang
Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of wool fabric, with a relatively short exposure time, effectively removed the covalently bonded lipid layer from the wool surface. The plasma-treated fabric showed increased wettability and the fibres showed greater roughness. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed a much more hydrophilic surface with significant increases in oxygen and nitrogen concentrations and a decrease in carbon concentration. Adhesion, as measured by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) force volume analysis, also increased, consistent with the more hydrophilic surface leading to a greater meniscus force on the SPM probe. The ageing of fibres from the plasma-treated fabric was assessed over a period of 28 days. While no physical changes were observed, the chemical nature of the surface changed significantly. XPS showed a decrease in the hydrophilic nature of the surface with time, consistent with the measured decrease in wettability. This change is proposed to be due to the reorientation of proteolipid chains. SPM adhesion studies also showed the surface to be changing with time. After ageing for 28 days, the plasma-treated surface was relatively stable and still dramatically different from the untreated fibre, suggesting that the oxidation of the surface and modification or removal of the lipid layer were permanent.

History

Journal

Journal of the Textile Institute

Volume

102

Issue

12

Pagination

1086 - 1093

Publisher

Routledge

Location

Manchester, England

ISSN

0040-5000

eISSN

1754-2340

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2011,The Textile Institute