Ammonia/Acetylene Plasma Deposition: An Alternative Approach to the Dyeing of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Fabrics at Low Temperatures

It has long been recognized that dyes other than disperse dyes would play a much larger industrial role if they could be applied to poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabrics at low temperatures. This research is related to a new process for the dyeing of hydrophobic PET with hydrophilic acid dyestuffs. The process is based on low-pressure plasma polymerization using an ammonia/acetylene gaseous mixture, which provides a nanoporous plasma coating containing accessible amine groups. Surface functionalization and crosslinking have been analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The color strength (absorption coefficient/scattering coefficient) of dyed PET is evidently improved by the attachment of dye molecules to the plasma polymer coating. The dyeability strongly depends on the plasma exposure time, gaseous mixture, and energy input. The permanency of the bond between the dye molecules and the plasma film can be characterized as the fastness property of dyed PET. The stability of the plasma coating has been examined with an abrasion and pilling tester. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicials, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 111: 2545-2552, 2009