AUTHOR=Barni R. , Roman H. E. , Citterio A. , Leonardi G. , Riccardi C. 

TITLE=Atmospheric plasma treatments of cashmere: The role of nanoscale sizing in the spray coating processing

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Materials

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2022.987608

DOI=10.3389/fmats.2022.987608

ISSN=2296-8016

ABSTRACT=We discuss the effects of air atmospheric plasma interaction with the surface of a textile. We
4 studied how plasma can promote changes in its texture and roughness at nano- and micro-meter
5 scales, having an impact on the improvement of such macroscopic properties as hydro/oleo6
repellency and pilling, without altering the hand assessment quality of the textile. These results are
7 obtained by analyzing images taken using electron microscopy. We studied both the fluctuations of
8 the image intensity at the fibre surfaces and their Fourier transforms at the sub-micrometer scales.
9 As a case study, we have analyzed the modifications of a cashmere fabric and the improvement
10 of finishing using resin spray coating. We observe a better efficiency when resin is applied to a
11 plasma treated sample. This result has been traced to the modifications that plasma induces on
12 the surface at the nanoscale. (We studied how plasma can promote changes in the texture and
13 the roughness at the nanometer scales. As a case study we have analyzed the modifications of
14 a cashmere fabric and the improvement of finishing using resin spray coating, whose efficiency
15 we observe to be boosted by previous plasma processing.) This opens up wide perspectives to
16 use plasma technology for the whole textile industrial sector.