Effects of atmospheric plasma on the printability of wool fabrics

This study is about environmentally safe pre-treatment for wool fabrics to improve their printability with acid dyes. Knitted wool fabrics treated with argon and air atmospheric plasma were evaluated in terms of printability. Printing was carried out with two different receipts under different steaming conditions. The surfaces of untreated and plasma treated wool fabrics were analyzed by SEM to compare the morphological changes. Hairiness of the fabric was investigated under light microscope. The results showed that atmospheric plasma treatment improved the hydrophility of the fiber and enhanced the adhesion and penetration of printing paste to the surface with decreasing hairiness. Increased penetration of printing paste and reduced hairiness caused higher color yield even at lower steaming durations without wetting agent. Air and argon plasma treated fabrics, especially at higher exposure durations, showed higher light fastnesses. Adversely, same samples showed a decrease in wet and dry rubbing fastnesses which were probably caused from the deeper shade of the fabric