The use of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment on enhancing the pigment application to cotton fabric

In coloration of fabric, pigment shows more environmental advantages than dye, however, the product has poorer colour fastness to crocking. Previous investigations have revealed that after non-polymerizing oxygen plasma treatment, hydrophilicity of cotton increases because of modification of the fibre surface. Therefore, oxygen plasma treatment was carried out on cotton fabric before red pigment coloration, in order to obtain better colour quality. The possibility and effectiveness of applying atmospheric pressure oxygen plasma treatment in enhancement of the performance of pigment application on cotton in terms of colour properties and colour fastness to crocking was examined. (c) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.