Superhydrophilicity of PP Nonwoven Fabric Modified with Atmospheric Gas-Liquid DBD Plasma

We experimentally addressed the surface modification of polypropylene(PP) non-woven fabric with atmospheric gas-liquid dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) plasma.The influence of the nitrogen + deionized water DBD plasma on the microstructures and wettability of the PP fabrics was investigated with scanning electron microscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection(FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy.The results show that the N₂+H₂O DBD plasma makes the difference.For instance,modified for 60 s,the PP fabric had a water-contact angle of 0°,showing a super-hydrophilicity,possibly because of high-OH density.The content of C1 s decreased from 96.7% to 31.8%,while contents of O1s and N1s increased to 38.4% and 29.8%,respectively.In addition,plasma-etching,surface-roughening,deformation,cracking and cross-linking of individual PP fibers were observed.When it comes to enhancement of hydrophilicity,N₂+H₂O plasma significantly outperforms N₂ plasma.