Abstract:

Polypropylene (PP) nonwoven fabric (NWF) was treated by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier (APDBD) plasma and low pressure glow discharge (LPGD) plasma, respectively. The influence of plasma gas, pressure, discharge frequency, discharge voltage, treatment time and the physical structure of PP NWF on the hydrophilicity improvement was studied. Fourier-transform infrared-attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy was employed to analyze chemical structure changes on the sample surface. Water absorption ratio and rate were used to evaluate hydrophilicity modification effect. It was found that oxygen plasma could give a better treatment effect than argon plasma. Either increasing of discharge frequency or treatment time can both improve the hydrophilicity. Larger specific surface area and smaller density of the sample could lead to higher water absorption capability.