Wettability measurements on plasma treated synthetic fabrics by capillary rise method

The capillary rise method was applied to evaluate the improvement in water uptake of polyester and acrylic fabrics obtained by plasma treatment. Power, exposure time and gas type (nitrogen, air and oxygen) were considered as plasma variables. After plasma treatment, fabric samples were tested through capillary rise of water. The processing of a set of height absorption values vs. time, until equilibrium is reached, allows characterisation of the wettability of samples by three parameters. The influence of plasma variables on these parameters was studied. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.