Basic dyeable polyester: a new approach using a VUV excimer lamp

Surface treatment of polyester fabric was carried out using a vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) excimer lamp. The hydrophilicity of the polyester fabric was significantly improved by surface modification, as indicated by the decrease in wetting time and wicking time. This approach can be used to create added value for polyester fabric, which otherwise suffers from low hydrophilicity. Further changes on irradiation were characterised by atomic force microscopy and the crystallinity and tensile strength of the samples were also tested. Basic dyeability of the microdenier polyester fabric was seen to improve greatly on exposure to the excimer lamp, followed by grafting with acrylic acid. The effects were observed to increase with an increase in irradiation time. The best effect was obtained for irradiation time of 10 min. These enhanced properties were accompanied by an insignificant loss in crystallinity and tensile strength of treated fabrics.