Dyeing Properties of Wool Treated with Low-Temperature Plasma Under Atmospheric Pressure

Merino wool top was treated with low-temperature plasmas of helium/ argon and acetone/argon under atmospheric pressure for 30 seconds and then dyed with two leveling-type acid dyes, CI acid orange 7 and CI acid red 18, and two milling-type acid dyes, CI acid blue 113 and CI acid blue 83. Dyeing rate and saturation dye exhaustion increased with the atmospheric low-temperature plasma treatments as with the dyeing of wools pretreated with low-temperature plasma by glow discharge of O ₂ and CF4. In particular, helium/ argon plasma was much more effective than acetone / argon plasma at improving dyeing properties, except for CI acid blue 113.