Dielectric barrier discharge plasma induced surface modification of polyester/cotton blend fabrics to improve polypyrrole coating adhesion and conductivity

Electrically conductive polyester-cotton blend fabrics were prepared by plasma pre-treatment followed by oxidative in-situ chemical polymerization of pyrrole. Polyester-cotton blend fabrics were pre-treated with dielectric barrier discharge-atmospheric pressure plasma treatment to improve the binding of polypyrrole coating on polyester-cotton blend substrate. A range of gas mixtures in dielectric barrier discharge were employed to investigate the effects of different gases in plasma induced surface modification to the surface roughness, surface chemistry and hydrophilicity of the fabric. Polyester-cotton blend fabric’s topographical change was observed by means of scanning electron microscopy, wettability changes by wicking height measurements and chemical changes by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Effect of the plasma treatment on binding strength was analyzed by studying abrasion resistance and surface resistivity. Results showed that increase in wettability and surface functionalization by oxygen functional groups contributed to improved adhesion (by 80% up to 2500 abrasion cycles), conductivity (by 65%) and atmospheric degradation (by 68% up to 4 months).