Acrylic Fabrics Treated with Plasma for Outdoor Applications

The increasing interest in the application of plasma processes on textiles is due both to the necessity of adding value to products and to develop new pollution free technologies. In fact, plasma treatments allow modification of the textile surface behaviour with a flexible process, which can impart particular properties to the fabrics, such as waterproofing, oil repellence, antistatic behaviour, etc. In addition, plasma processes are characterised by the very small quantity of chemicals involved and by the absence of solvent or water, which are usually employed in traditional finishing processes. In this work the effect of different plasma treatments on the properties of acrylic fabrics for outdoor applications was explored. In particular, the possibility of substituting plasma processes for the traditional cleaning and waterproofing processes of outdoor acrylic fabrics was evaluated. The properties of the plasma treated acrylic fabrics have been compared with the characteristics of the fabrics traditionally treated. The resistance of plasma treatments to wear, UV and weather exposure has been also evaluated.