Surface modification of natural leather using low-pressure parallel plate plasma

Low-pressure parallel plate plasma has been applied to control surface wettability of natural leather and to improve dyeablity, waterproof property and wet rubbing property. After the plasma treatment, uneven surface of natural leather tends to smooth by the radical and ionic bombardment of the plasma. Experiments show that hydrophilic property increases with the surface treatment time. CF4 plasma treatment improves remarkably the waterproofness of natural leather without decolorization. After the plasma treatment, the wet rubbing property improves to approximately two grades on applying the gray scale. We can conclude that the wet rubbing effect will be enhanced as the plasma treatment process is repeated. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.