大気圧プラズマ照射したPET繊維集合体中における単繊維のぬれ性

摘要

ポリエチレンテレフタレート（PET）繊維は，強度，弾性回復率，熱可塑性，速乾性，耐薬品性．耐微生物性，耐光性などに優れ［1］，衣料用繊維として最も汎用されている繊維である［2］．しかしながら，多くの合成繊維と同様に疎水性が高いため，吸湿性，制電性，Soil release性などに乏しいという欠点があり，生産過程における準備工程，染色および仕上げ加工においても不利な点を有する［3］．%Poly (ethylene terephthalate), PET, fibrous assembly was treated by atmospheric pressure plasma (APP) jet with three different reactive gas sources, air, nitrogen and argon. The change in the wettability of single fiber surface due to the treatment was determined by the wetting force measurement with moving the fiber/water/air three-phase boundary. Both advancing and receding contact angles of water on the PET fiber decreased considerably by the APP treatment, even if the hydrophobic recovery of the treated fiber surface after the aging in air and rinsing with water was taken into consideration. The contact angles on a treated single fiber surface showed periodic variation along the fiber axis, indicating that the fiber surfaces were not treated uniformly because of fiber crimps due to the structure of the fibrous assembly. The water wicking into the capillaries of the fibrous assembly was promoted after the APP treatment, in good agreement with single fiber wettability. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, the oxygen concentration and the roughness on the PET fiber surface were found to enhance after the APP treatment. The above changes in the surface properties of a single fiber were remarkable for using nitrogen as a reactive gas.