Low Temperature Plasma on Wool Substrates: The Effect of the Nature of the Gas

Low temperature plasma (LTP) with three different nonpolymerizing gasses—oxy gen, nitrogen, and a 25% hydrogen/75% nitrogen gas mixture—are used to study the influence of the nature of each gas on the properties of wool substrates. The properties include fiber-to-fiber friction, feltability, fabric shrinkage, surface structure, dyeability, alkali solubility, and surface chemical composition. After the LTP treatment, those prop erties of the LTP-treated substrates change, and the changes depend on the nature of the plasma gas used. All the results are discussed quantitatively.