Investigations into the Anti-Felting Properties of Sputtered Wool Using Plasma Treatment

Abstract

In this research the effects of mordant and plasma sputtering treatments on the crystallinity and morphological properties of wool fabrics were investigated. The felting behavior of the treated samples was also studied. We used madder as a natural dye and copper sulfate as a metal mordant. We also used copper as the electrode material in a DC magnetron plasma sputtering device. The anti-felting properties of the wool samples before and after dying was studied, and it was shown that the shrink resistance and anti-felting behavior of the wool had been significantly improved by the plasma sputtering treatment. In addition, the percentage of crystallinity and the size of the crystals were investigated using an X-ray diffractometer, and a scanning electron microscope was used for morphological analysis. The amount of copper particles on the surface of the mordanted and sputtered fabrics was studied using the energy dispersive Xray (EDX) method, and the hydrophobic properties of the samples were examined using the water drop test. The results show that with plasma sputtering treatment, the hydrophobic properties of the surface of wool become super hydrophobic.

A review of the sustainable methods in imparting shrink resistance to wool fabrics

“…The durability of this kind of treatment is questionable and also may affect the handle properties of the treated fabric but the developed treatment is eco-friendly. Borghei et al investigated DC magnetron sputter coating of wool with copper and found that 1 min treatment was enough to make wool shrink-resist [107].…”

Impact of Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment of Wool Fabric for Dyeing with PEDOT: PSS

“…After 5 washing cycles, unmodified and dyed Clevios F ET wool became lighter (L 57.49), light blue (h 107.15), yellowish (b* 6.16), less green (a* −1.89), but with more saturated color (C 3.98). The untreated wool fabrics may have felted and shrunk during washing, which may have increased the color deposition, thus being the reason for the higher saturated color result [44]. The measured CIE L * a * b * C * h coordinates and K/S values at the maximum wavelength of 520 nm are presented in Table 5.…”

Synergetic Effects of Liquid Ammonia, Protease, and Polyurethane Nano-Emulsion on Improving Shrink Resistance of Wool

“…Furthermore, the protease mainly acts on the cell membrane complex (CMC) between surface scale and cortical cells, causing serious damage to the fiber strength. 7 To improve the effect of protease, methods such as multi-enzyme synergy, [8][9][10] ultrasonic treatment, 11 plasma radiation, 12 and chitosan pre-adsorption 2 were used to increase the effect of protease on the surface scale, and reduce the damage to the fibers. 13,14 However, the ultrasonic and plasma technologies limited by equipment are difficult to apply in industry, and the chemical reagents will seriously affect the feel and strength of the fabric.…”