Low-Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Treatment in the Polymer and Textile Industry
Mária Domonkos, Petra Tichá
Abstract
Plasma treatment is a popular technique for modifying the surface properties of a wide range of materials (plastics, glass, metals, and wood) prior to gluing, bonding, and painting. Physical and chemical properties are altered to improve or confer specific characteristics of materials in an environmentally friendly manner. Low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma (LTAPP) is an innovative technology offering surface modification of heat-sensitive materials using an easy one-step procedure. LTAPP treatment is routinely employed for the surface modification of polymer-based materials to enhance their adhesion, printability, and surface sterility. This article demonstrates that LTAPP plasma treatment also opens up new opportunities for the textile industry. It has a positive effect on fabric wettability, liquid repellency, dyeability, UV protection factor, shrink resistance, flame retardancy, and so on. This article describes selected applications of LTAPP in polymer science and the textile industry, highlighting current research trends in material science.