Laser scanning confocal microscope characterization of dye diffusion in nylon 6 fibers treated with atmospheric pressure plasmas |
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| Authors: | Chunxia Wang Lu Zhu Yiping Qiu |
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| Affiliation: | 1. State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Key Laboratory of Textile Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, China;2. Department of Textile Materials Science, College of Textiles, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China;3. College of Textiles and Clothing, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng, Jiangsu 224001, China |
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| Abstract: | The effect of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on wettability and dyeability of nylon 6 fibers is investigated. The plasma treatments resulted in an average of 10°–20° decrease in the advancing contact angle and 20°–30° decrease in the receding contact angle. An increased dye diffusion rate of nylon 6 fibers was observed using laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM). Scanning electron microscope confirmed that the fiber surfaces were roughened, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that the polar groups on the fiber surfaces increased after the plasma treatments. As the plasma treatment time increased, a greater degree of etching was achieved and more polar groups such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups produced on the surfaces of the nylon 6 fibers, leading to a better wettability and thus a better dyeability of the fiber. This study proved that LSCM may be effectively used in detecting the change of dye diffusion rate in nylon fibers treated with plasmas and the mounting medium should have a close refractive index as the fiber to avoid distortion of the fiber cross section image. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 |
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| Keywords: | plasma treatment polyamide wettability dyeability diffusion |
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