Ultraviolet Protection, Flame Retardancy and Antibacterial Properties of Treated Polyester Fabric Using Plasma-Nano Technology

Nanotechnology provides the ability to engineer the properties of materials. The possibility of using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) air plasma treatment for fibre surface activation to facilitate deposition of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), nano-silver (Ag) and nano-titanium dioxide (TiO2) onto polyester fabric is investigated. It is aimed to study the possibil-ity of engineering the multifunctional of polyester fabric. The treated fabric is evaluated through measuring the white-ness index (WI), wettability, surface roughness, surface morphology, flame retardancy, ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), antibacterial activity, mechanical properties, and coloration behavior as well as fastness properties. Scan electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) graphs show deposition of Al2O3 and nano particles (NPs) of TiO2 and Ag onto the fibre after washing several times. Air plasma-Al2O3 treatment improves the flame retarding, UPF, the thermal stability and whiteness of polyester fabric; whereas air plasma-nano Ag treatment affects positively the antibacterial activity of the fibre and air plasma-nano TiO2 enhances the fibre protection against ultraviolet rays. The colouration behaviour of the treated samples is unchanged or slightly improved