536
M. Singh et al.
The surface modification helps in altering various properties to improve wettability,
dyeability, stain removal and sterilisation. DBD techniques are the need of the hour as
it is a green technology which does not generate any wastewater or harmful chemical.
2.4 Advantages of Plasma Treatment
Plasma technology for pretreatment and finishing of textiles has become an important
industrial process. It offers numerous advantages:
• Gas plasma technology follows the principles of Green technology as it offers a
clean, dry and zero waste alternative to conventional processes.
• Modification by plasma is highly surface-specific as they do not affect the bulk
properties and only the top layer is altered.
• Non-thermal plasma is particularly useful for textile processing as most of the
textile material is heat sensitive and atmospheric pressure plasma can activate
surface reactions without excessive thermal degradation of the substrate.
• The modified layer formed is relatively uniform and cover the whole and large
surface area.
• By using a variety of gases, different functional groups can be incorporated on the
fabric surface depending on the type of functionality to be introduced on the fabric
like wettability, adhesion, printability, hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity (Morent
et al. 2008).
2.5 Plasma–Substrate Interaction
When a fabric is exposed with plasma, various surface reactions occur leading to
change in properties of the exposed surface. The activated chemical species present
in plasma discharge like electrons, ions, excited molecules, neutral atoms interact
and generate other active species. Figure 2 depicts the process of substrate interaction
with plasma. Reactions of gas plasma with the substrate produce four processes.
2.5.1 Cleaning and Etching
Organic contaminants such as oils and waxes are removed from the substrate surface in the presence of oxygen plasma. Energetic oxygen species react with the surface contaminants such as oligomers, antioxidants, anti-blocking agents and undergo
hydrogen abstraction with free radical formation along with chain scissions until the
molecular weight is significantly low to boil away in the form of water and carbon
dioxide mainly during processing (Chan et al. 1996). Ultraviolet light generated in
M. Singh et al.
The surface modification helps in altering various properties to improve wettability,
dyeability, stain removal and sterilisation. DBD techniques are the need of the hour as
it is a green technology which does not generate any wastewater or harmful chemical.
2.4 Advantages of Plasma Treatment
Plasma technology for pretreatment and finishing of textiles has become an important
industrial process. It offers numerous advantages:
• Gas plasma technology follows the principles of Green technology as it offers a
clean, dry and zero waste alternative to conventional processes.
• Modification by plasma is highly surface-specific as they do not affect the bulk
properties and only the top layer is altered.
• Non-thermal plasma is particularly useful for textile processing as most of the
textile material is heat sensitive and atmospheric pressure plasma can activate
surface reactions without excessive thermal degradation of the substrate.
• The modified layer formed is relatively uniform and cover the whole and large
surface area.
• By using a variety of gases, different functional groups can be incorporated on the
fabric surface depending on the type of functionality to be introduced on the fabric
like wettability, adhesion, printability, hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity (Morent
et al. 2008).
2.5 Plasma–Substrate Interaction
When a fabric is exposed with plasma, various surface reactions occur leading to
change in properties of the exposed surface. The activated chemical species present
in plasma discharge like electrons, ions, excited molecules, neutral atoms interact
and generate other active species. Figure 2 depicts the process of substrate interaction
with plasma. Reactions of gas plasma with the substrate produce four processes.
2.5.1 Cleaning and Etching
Organic contaminants such as oils and waxes are removed from the substrate surface in the presence of oxygen plasma. Energetic oxygen species react with the surface contaminants such as oligomers, antioxidants, anti-blocking agents and undergo
hydrogen abstraction with free radical formation along with chain scissions until the
molecular weight is significantly low to boil away in the form of water and carbon
dioxide mainly during processing (Chan et al. 1996). Ultraviolet light generated in