Influence Of Absorbed Moisture On Anti-Felting Property Of Wool Treated By Atmospheric Pressure Plasma

Effect of atmospheric pressure plasma treated wool with different water content was investigated in this study.Wool fibers and fabrics conditioned in 100%RH water vapor(wet group),and 65%RH (standard group) were treated by atmospheric pressure plasma jet with pure helium gas and helium/oxygen mixed gas respectively.Scanning electron microscope(SEM) indicated that scales of wool fiber were removed thoroughly for fibers for 100%RH conditioned group.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) shown that carbon content decreased greatly after plasma treatment.However,surface chemical composition of 100%RH groups changed more significant than 65%RH groups. Results of contact angle test did not vary greatly among treated groups. Shrinkage test was carried out to measure the ultimate anti-felting effect of plasma treatment of wool.The lowest shrinkage ratios 5.22%and 5.90%were obtained for wool fabric conditioned in 100%RH before treatment.It was found that in atmospheric plasma treatment of wool materials,water content of substrate before treatment played more important role than gas type.