Effect of Plasma Treatment on Moisture Management Properties and Drying Behavior of Polyester and Blend Fabrics for Sportswear Application

The hygienic and comfort properties of fabrics for clothing are basically determined by their electrifiability and ability to absorb moisture, i.e. the hygroscopicity and capillarity, which are quantitative characteristics of the hydrophilicity of materials. Unfortunately, the most common synthetic fibre, Polyester exhibits high electrifiability and low hydrophilicity, which makes it unsuitable for fabrication of fabrics with properties close to cellulosic fibre and significantly restricts the area of their application. However, now a days, it is more preferable in the active sportswear due to its excellent physical properties like abrasion resistance, strength etc. and low cost. The present study aims at increasing the hydrophilicity of polyester and polyester blends by combination of plasma modification and chemical treatment. Surface modification of the developed fabrics is carried out by di-electric barrier discharge plasma in presence of air and subsequently the fabrics are subjected to chemical treatment to impart hydrophilic property to make it suitable for active sportswear. The moisture management properties, drying rate and air permeability, abrasion resistance etc. of these fabrics are evaluated.